54 
Citrus and Tropical Fruit Culture 
VARIETIES OF MORE OR LESS COMMERCIAL 
IMPORTANCE 
LYON (Guatemalan) 
Fruit. Shape pyriform, weighs from sixteen to eighteen 
ounces. Skin moderately thick and somewhat rough; 
dark green in color with numerous small yellowish or 
russet dots. Flesh a deep cream tinged with green toward 
the skin and has a rich pleasant flavor. Seed of medium 
size, fitting tightly in the cavity. Ripens April to August. 
Tree. Very upright in its growth but not so vigirous 
as some of the other varieties. It is an early and pro- 
live bearer, often setting fruit while yet in the nursery 
row. On account of its tall, slender growth this variety 
can be planted much closer together than other sorts; 
fifteen feet apart each way being considered not too close 
by some growers. 
History. Originated at Hollywood from seed imported 
by L. Lyon in 1913. Of Guatemalan origin. 
BLAKEMAN (Guatemalan) 
Fruit. Pyriform, weighing froi>: sixteen to twenty 
ounces. Skin thick and woody, slightly roughened and 
dark green in color. Flesh a deep cream yellow tinged 
with green near the skin; flavor rich and pleasant; qual- 
ity good. Seed medium size fitting rightly in the cavity. 
Ripens April to August. 
Tree. A strong grower but its spreading tendency 
necessi.ates early pruning to produce a compact head; 
it is fairly hardy and a good bearer. 
History. Originated at Hollywood from seed brought 
in by John Murrietta and planted in 1904. First described 
in the Journal of Agriculture for November, 1913, under 
the name of Dickey No. 2. It has also been known as 
Habersham. 
TAFT (Guatemalan) 
Fruit. Obvate to pyriform ; weight sixteen ounces, skin 
thick and somewhat roughened, deep green in color 
Flesh cream colored, smooth and of excellent flavor. Seed 
of medium size fitting tightly in the cavity. Ripens May 
to October. 
Tree. A rapid grower of spreading habit. Not con- 
sidered sufficiently hardy to plant where there is danger 
of heavy frosts. Also inclined to be rather late in coming 
into bearing. 
History. Originated at Orange, California, by C. P. 
Taft from seed planted in 1900. 
QUEEN (Guatemalan) 
Fruit. Pyriform, weight one and one-half pounds. Skin 
thick and woody; deep purple in color. Flesh rich clear 
yellow, changing to dark green near the skin, and has a 
rich nutty flavor. Seed very small, completely filling the 
cavity. Ripens in early summer. This is one of the 
promising new varieties. 
Tree. Vigorous but of somewhat spreading growth ; 
very productive. 
History. Introduced by E. E. Knight of Yorba Linda, 
California, from budwood brought from an elevation of 
5,200-feet in Guatemala. 
LINDA (Guatemalan) 
Fruit. Nearly round, weight about two pounds. Skin 
rough, thick and woody, deep purple in color. Flesh firm, 
yellowish in color, with a rich nutty flavor.. Seed me- 
dium size and tight in cavity. Ripens from October to 
March in Guatemala. 
Tree. Vigorous and hardy, productiveness good. 
History. Introduced as budwood from Guatemala in 
1914 by E. E. Knight as Knight's No. 39. 
PICKING, PACKING AND MARKETING 
The ordinary orange clipper is the best for pick- 
ing Avocados. They should be clipped from the tree 
at a point just above the swollen part of the stem, 
usually about one inch from where the steam is at- 
tached to the fruit. There has been much discussion 
with regard to the proper time to pick the fruit, and 
in the past not a little fruit has been picked and mar- 
keted in a green state, a condition to be very much 
regretted as it has a detrimental effect on the con- 
sumption of good fruit. Many more people would 
now be eating Avocados were it not for the fact that 
the first one they tried happened to be immature and 
consequently lacked the rich nutty flavor always 
found in well-matured fruits. 
For home use the Avocado should be left on the 
tree until it is quite mature. The dark or purple 
skinned fruit should not be picked until the entire 
surface, especially around the stem, has changed from 
green to purple. The green skinned fruit should be 
left on the tree until the stem has commenced to 
show a distinct yellow cast and the fruit loses its 
glossy green color and assumes a dull or yellowish 
shade. 
For market purposes the fruit should be picked at 
a somewhat earlier stage, but the most suitable time 
will necessarily have to be ascertained by individual 
experiments and tests until the California Avocado 
Association has had sufficient time to compute the 
maturity standards and dates of ripening of the differ- 
ent varieties. The Association hopes to have this 
data complete in the near future, at which time the 
growers will be advised as to what condition the dif- 
ferent varieties should be in, to comply with the ma- 
turity standard. It is to be hoped that all growers 
will co-operate with the Association in this work to 
the end that the practice of marketing either imma- 
ture or over-ripe fruit will be eliminated. 
Up to the present time the local consumption has 
been sufficient to take care of all the fruit raised in 
California and little or no attention has been paid to 
the matter of picking for shipment. In Florida, Avo- 
cadoes are packed in tomato crates which are similar 
to our orange boxes being 12x1 2x24. inches, divided 
into two compartments. Coarse excelsior is used be- 
tween the layers of fruit to prevent bruising. The 
fruit is not wrapped as this tends to hasten ripening, 
causing it to reach the market in a soft and unsalable 
condition. 
As the production increases there will no doubt be 
some uniform method of packing adopted whereby 
the fruit will present the most attractive appearance 
and at the same time reach the consumer in the best 
