AVOCADO OR AGUACATE 401 



THE ALLIGATOR PEAR 



The avocado, or Aguacate of the Mexicans (Persea gratissima) has 

 proved hardy in several districts in the State, north and south. It is 

 not likely that it will be satisfactory without high summer heat and 

 freedom from heavy frosts. It is, however, one of the most promising 

 of its class of fruits, as it is known to epicures, and its marketing at a 

 high price is reasonably assured. Mr. J. C. Harvey, of Los Angeles, 

 gives this interesting account of it : 



It is a handsome evergreen tree, and, in the typical form, bears elliptical 

 leaves from two and one-half to three inches in width, narrow toward the base, 

 and about six inches long. In some varieties the new growth is of a reddish 

 brown, ultimately becoming deep green. The fruits are pear-shaped, about the 

 size of a Bartlett pear, and contain a single, rather large seed. When ripe, the 

 skin, which is much thinner than that of an orange, parts easily from the pulp, 

 which is of a moderately firm though buttery consistency, and forms, with lime 

 juice or pepper and salt, one of the most delicious salads known to epicures. 

 Indeed, the fruit is a perfect mayonnaise in itself. Few persons fail to like it, 

 even at first, and in countries where it is common, it is esteemed above all 

 other vegetable productions, both by natives and foreigners alike. The pulp is 

 quite rich in a bland and most agreeable oil, said to be very nutritious. The 

 tree attains a height of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet, and forms a hand- 

 some object when liberally cultivated. The tree, is a gross feeder. Good- 

 sized trees carry a large crop, which, after attaining a certain size, can be picked 

 at intervals of a week or two, extending over a period of two or three months, 

 the fruits in each instance ripening in a week or ten days after gathering; 

 and a very remarkable fact is that the quality or flavor of the last picking 

 seems just the same as the first. 



The alligator pear must be considered as one of the most promising 

 fruits included in this chapter; it is now being planted largely and it 

 may prove the most profitable of the group. Efforts are in progress for 

 improved varieties by selection from fruiting seedlings and propagation 

 by budding. 



The seeds may be started in small pots,, and shifted before they 

 become potbound into small redwood boxes. As the plants attain the 

 size of a lead pencil and larger, bud them at any time during the reason 

 when the bark will slip and when budwood is obtainable, using care not 

 to cut or injure the cambium layer. The bud is tied with wax cloth, 

 and trained up as in any other budded tree. As the bud unites, say in 

 from two to four weeks (as the case may be) the seedling is partly cut 

 back to force out the bud. The strings are left on until the bud starts. 

 Care must be taken not to use too much water in growing the young 

 trees. 



The literature of the alligator pear is increasing and should be 

 consulted.* 



Two general types of avocado are, in 1914, being rather sharply 

 contrasted ; the thick-skinned, being advocated as more likely to be 

 profitable in California because its covering favors long shipment and 

 because it is better known at the east, as the Florida product is of that 



*The Avocado, by G. N. Collins. Bulletin 77, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. 

 of Agr. 1907. Consult also Yearbooks of Ihe U. S. Dept. of Agr. for 1905 and 1906. The 

 Avocado in Southern California and the Development of the Avocado Industry by F. W. 

 Popenoe, Altadena, Los Angeles county. New varieties of the Avocado for California, by 

 K. A. Ryerson, University of California Journal of Agriculture, November, 1913. Mr. 

 Ryerson gives original descriptions of fourteen varieties which he considers superior for 

 commercial planting. 



