16 



392 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



upon. In California budding is more commonly practiced, using seed- 

 ling loquats about 9 months old, and approximately 1 inch in diameter. 

 Buds are tied in with paraffin cloth. The stocks are cut back about 

 three weeks after budding, leaving three or four leaves, until the bud 

 has made from 4 to 6 inches of growth, when it should be cut close to 

 the inserted bud and waxed over. 



Perhaps the most successful originator of varieties of the loquat in 

 this country thus far is Mr. C. P. Taft, of Orange, Cal., whose seed- 

 lings have attracted wide attention. One of the best of these, the 

 "Advance," is illustrated on PI. LII, from specimens grown by Mr. 

 Taft. It is a very large loquat, about three times the size of the ordi- 

 nary seedling, and double the size of the " Giant." The fruit is borne 

 in very large terminal clusters, and is of refreshing, subaci^l flavor, 

 with less than the usual proportion of seed to flesh. It endures ship- 

 ment well, having been successfully forwarded from southern Cali- 

 fornia to Chicago, New York, and Washington. It is commended 

 for experimental planting in the Gulf States and the warmer valleys 

 of California. 



In recent years there has been much interest in the Mediterranean 

 region in the improvement of this fruit. Experimenters in Italy and 

 Algeria have produced seedlings said to vary very greatly in size, 

 quality, and proportion of seed to flesh. As a number of their best 

 varieties have recently been secured through the Section of Seed and 

 Plant Introduction, a considerable increase in the commercial planting 

 of this wholesome fruit may reasonably be expected in the near future. 



