1250 



characteristics were seen in the same locality, and it 

 is possible that they may not be true Guatemalan avo- 

 cados, though in most respects they seem to belong to 

 this race. In form this fruit is long and slender, 

 sometimes slightly curved, and sometimes becoming pyr- 

 iform. It is medium-sized, weighing about twelve ounc- 

 es. The surface is quite smooth, and green in color. 

 The skin is thin, and surrounds the thin yellow flesh, 

 which is of very good quality and shows no fiber or 

 discoloration. The seed is medium-sized, and while it 

 does not rattle in its cavity, it does not fit as 

 snugly as it does in nearly all other Guatemalan va- 

 rieties." (Popenoe.) 



Persea americana (Lauraceae), 45560. Avocado. From 

 Guatemala. Collected by Mr. Wilson Popenoe, Agricul- 

 tural Explorer for this Department. "(No. 212. Avo- 

 cado No. 26. Manik. Guatemala, Guatemala. November 13, 

 1917.) A productive and rather early variety of ex- 

 cellent quality. It is a medium-sized fruit of pleas- 

 ing form and clear yellow flesh of unusually rich 

 flavor. The parent tree is growing in the Finca La 

 Polvora 1 , in Antigua, Guatemala. The elevation is 

 about 5,100 feet. Antigua does not experience severe 

 frosts, hence it is impossible to determine, in ad- 

 vance of a trial in the United States, whether or not 

 the variety is any hardier than the average of the 

 Guatemalan race. The flowering season is February and 

 March. The tree blooms profusely and some years sets 

 enormous crops of fruit. In 1917 a very heavy crop was 

 ripened. The 1918 crop is much smaller. In general, 

 the bearing habits of the tree give promise of being 

 unusually good, there being a tendency for the fruits 

 to develop in clusters. The season of ripening is 

 properly February to June, but fruits picked early in 

 December developed fairly good flavor upon ripening 

 in the house. The season may be termed early to mid- 

 season. The fruit is more variable in form than that 

 of some varieties. The range is from oval to slender 

 pyrlform, the majority of the fruits being of the 

 latter shape, without, however, a well-defined neck. 

 The weight varies from 8 to 12 ounces. The surface is 

 slightly roughened, and green in color. The skin is 

 moderately thick, the flesh rich yellow, quite free 

 from all fiber or discoloration, and of a very rich 

 and pleasant flavor. The seed is a trifle large in 

 some specimens, small in others, being medium-sized 

 or rather small on the average. It is quite tight in 

 the seed cavity." (Popenoe,) 



