4QQ CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



and pleasant to the taste, being most palatable when near decay. 

 Mr. I. H. Cammack, of Whittier, describes the pulp as of the con- 

 sistency of ice cream or a custard flavored with a blending of pine- 

 apples and bananas. If it has a fault it is too rich. Apparently it 

 has no particular season for ripening, yet the best specimens seem 

 to be found in Santa Barbara in April and May. The cherimoyer 

 is also found in gardens in San Diego and Los Angeles counties. 

 It needs a well-protected situation. The fruit has been marketed 

 on a limited scale in Los Angeles, and larger plantations have been 

 made especially in the Cahuenga Valley, near Los Angeles. The 

 plant comes true from seed, and the tree bears in its fourth year, 

 and should have as much room as an orange tree. Mr. C. P. Taft, 

 of Orange, points out the fact that much can be gained by selec- 

 tion and propagation from the most satisfactory trees, as follows : 



Cherimoyers found in the gardens of Southern California are almost 

 always seedlings, and generally shy bearers. There is but one named 

 variety, so far as I am aware, the Golden Russet. This is very prolific and 

 frequently attains large size. Specimens above one pound in weight are 

 not uncommon. The quality is as good as any, but is variable owing to the 

 season and time of ripening, much cold having a marked deteriorating 

 effect. The normal shape is like that of the strawberry, and the variations 

 from the normal are equally abundant; in fact, in this respect the cherimolia 

 is quite extraordinary, as the same tree will have on it fully matured fruit 

 from less than an inch in diameter up to six or eight inches. In size the 

 tree averages about the same as the peach. The market is a good one, large 

 fruit commanding $3 per dozen or more, while the smaller ones sell by the 

 pound at a relatively lower price. 



THE CHOCHO OR CHAYOTA 



The chocho plant (Sechium edule) is perhaps better known as 

 "choco," "chocho," "chayota," and "Portuguese squash." It be- 

 longs to the order cucurbitacae, and is a vine, with perennial root, 

 resembling in growth and fruit our summer squash or vegetable 

 marrow. It is a very prolific bearer. Both the fruit and the great 

 yam-like tuber are used as food by man and beast in the West 

 Indies, where it is considered a wholesome article of diet. The roots 

 often weigh as much as twenty pounds. They have a flavor similar 

 to the yam, and are considered a greater delicacy than the fruit, 

 which in a raw state resembles the chestnut in flavor, and under 

 favorable conditions weighs over three pounds. The proper way 

 to grow them is to plant the whole fruit, as they have but one seed, 

 and they produce fruit in three months, under favorable conditions. 

 The vine is exceedingly rapid in growth, and may cover a thousand 

 square feet in one summer, and yield shade until frost kills the top 

 growth. 



THE GUAVA , 



Two species of guava have been quite widely tried in this 

 State the strawberry guava (Psidium cattleyanum )and the lemon 

 guava (Psidium guayava). The former is the hardier, and, in fact, 

 seems to be about as hardy as the orange, and it has fruited in 



