402 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



licious, like the strawberry, but lacking the acid. The seeds are 

 very small, almost unnoticeable ; quite a contrast in this respect to 

 the guava. 



Mr. Coolidge gives this appreciative sketch of the plant and 

 fruit : 



Feijoa, coming from Uruguay and Southern Brazil, is a fruit of extreme 

 hardiness, and has stood a temperature of four degrees abov,e zero without 

 injury. I know of plants growing on the desert that have endured a week's 

 temperature of 115 degrees without any injury, so we can safely class it as 

 a hardy fruit. So far nothing but seedlings have been grown, and these 

 vary greatly as to bearing qualities and size of fruits, but there are individ- 

 ual plants growing in our section that fruit regularly and produce fruits 

 of a good size. Within a few years we will have plants of the feijoa pro- 

 ducing fruits on the average as large as an ordinary hen's egg. The fruit 

 ripening in December gives it a status that no other fruit of its character 

 has. I have kept the fruits in good condition for four weeks after picking. 

 It is one of our finest ornaments with its grayish green persistent foilage 

 and charming white and red flowers. 



Feijoa plants can be grown from the seeds, but seedlings are 

 seldom worth growing. Good varieties can be layered in this way : 

 Bend the lower limbs down and fasten them into scooped-out 

 places in the ground, using a forked stick with one end longer than 

 the other, driven into the ground to hold the branch down firmly. 

 Cover with three or four inches of earth. The best time for this 

 work is in the fall, but it can be successfully done at almost any 

 time of the year. Two or three months will be required for the 

 layered branch to start out the new root growth, and during this 

 time the ground must not be allowed to dry out, and should at all 

 times be moist, but not too wet. 



Feijoa only needs pruning enough to form a well-shaped bush. 

 It takes most readily to a roundish form and should be checked 

 from too much rambling though, as the fruit comes on the hew 

 wood, enough of the newer growth must be carefully provided for. 

 In a garden the plant can be trained to a fence, trellis, etc., but 

 usually shapes itself pretty well with the slight assistance indicated. 



Seedling feijoas are frequently sterile and require cross-fertiliza- 

 tion. They should be grafted with scions from plants of good 

 behavior. The fruit should be allowed to drop from the tree as 

 evidence of full maturity. It is then laid away until it begins to 

 soften. At that time it exhales its maximum of perfume and is held 

 to be delicious combining the flavors of pineapple, strawberry, 

 raspberry and banana. It is conceded that some people have to 

 learn to like it, however. It is eaten out of hand or with cream, and 

 is usable for jams, jellies, etc. 



THE GRANADILLA 



The granadilla is the term applied to the edible fruit of a species 



of passion vine (Passiflora edulis), which is quite hardy, and is 



growing in different parts of the State. The fruit is about the size 



ot a small hens egg, purple exterior when ripe, the thin brittle 



I inclosing a mass of small seeds covered with a brilliant yellow 



