10 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



to-day. The increasing scarcity of meat, and the fact that an 

 acre of land will yield a larger amount of food when planted to 

 avocados than it will in any other tree crop known at present, 

 assures the future importance of the avocado industry in this 

 country. 



Horticulturally speaking, the avocado is a new fruit. In 

 Central America it has been grown mainly as a dooryard 

 tree, and no care has been given to its propagation or culture. 

 During the last fifteen years the horticulturists of California 

 and Florida have devoted systematic attention to vegetative 

 propagation, to cultural methods, and to the development of 

 superior varieties. In these two states the avocado has been 

 regarded as a fruit of great commercial possibilities. Cuba, 

 Porto Rico, and several other countries are also giving serious 

 consideration to commercial avocado culture. 



During summer and autumn the avocado is regularly offered 

 in the markets of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other 

 large cities. Many persons who ten years ago were not even 

 familiar with its name have now learned to appreciate the 

 merits of this unique fruit. However, production is not yet 

 great enough to place the avocado in the position which ulti- 

 mately it must occupy, that of a staple foodstuff, rather than 

 a luxury or a salad-fruit. 



The avocado orchards of California, Florida, Cuba, and 

 Porto Rico now have a total area approaching one thousand 

 acres. As with every young horticultural industry, the 

 problems of propagation, culture, and marketing have been 

 numerous, and many of them remain to be solved. The 

 avocado growers of California have formed a cooperative 

 organization for the purpose of attacking these problems more 

 efficiently. Especially important is the question of varieties, 

 which must, in many cases, be settled individually for each 

 locality. Experience of the last fifteen years has brought to 

 light many of the fundamental requirements of the avocado 



