14 THE MANGO IN PORTO RICO. 



The tree is seldom seen at hig-h altitudes, but this maj^ also be due 

 to the fact that high altitudes are often moist. At Senahu, Alta Vera 

 Paz, Guatemala, trees were seen growing at an altitude of between 

 2,000 and 3,000 feet. They looked strong and healthy but were with- 

 out signs of fruit or flowers, and it was said that these trees had never 

 been known to produce fruit. 



METHODS OF PROPAGATION. 



SEED. 



The mango grows readil}' from seed, and this is the only method of 

 propagation practiced in Porto Rico. For transporting the seed long 

 distances it is, of course, necessarj^ to remove the pulp, and the best 

 results have been obtained with cleaned seeds, dried on the outside and 

 packed so as to conserve the moisture without molding. Packed in 

 this wa}^, several successful importations of seed have been made from 

 the East Indies to Florida. 



The ease and rapidity with which mangoes can be propagated by 

 means of seed are decided advantages, but the results are very uncer- 

 tain, and very few of the really desirable varieties can be maintained 

 by this method. There are a few good varieties in different parts of 

 the w^orld the seedlings of which appear to produce fruit identical 

 with the parent. 



Much could doubtless be done to improve the mango in Porto Rico 

 b}^ the growth of seedlings from selected fruit, and reallj' good varie- 

 ties might be originated. Cross fertilization of the flowers might pro- 

 duce new varieties and increase the chances of producing good forms. 

 On the other hand, if the mango follows the analogy of other fruits, 

 it might bo worth while to try the experiment of self-pollinating some 

 of the best varieties, with the idea that the reproductive fertility would 

 be thus impaired and the size of the seed reduced. 



A more expeditious method of reducing the size of the seed might 

 be to cross-fertilize with the pollen of some variety or perhaps species 

 so distantly related that partially or completely sterile hybrids would 

 be secured. Breeding experiments of all kinds require, however, so 

 much time that for practical purposes the introduction of superior 

 varieties existing in other countries is certainly the first step to be 

 taken. 



INARCHIXG. 



This, and methods to be described later, provide means of propa- 

 gating good varieties, so that the fruit of the new plant will be identi- 

 cal, or nearly so, with that of the parent. No greater variation need 

 be expected than that occurring on a single tree. 



In India and wherever the cultivation of the mango is carried on to 

 any great extent, inarching is by far the most common method of 



