THE AVOCADO 41 



shield-budding, which was originally used by Cellon, has proved 

 the most generally dependable, and is now employed by most 

 nurserymen in California and Florida. It is, therefore, given 

 major consideration here, while methods of grafting are de- 

 scribed in less detail. 



Stock plants. 



In Florida it has been the custom to bud or graft West 

 Indian varieties on seedlings of the same race. In California 

 the Guatemalan race has usually been budded on the Mexican, 

 in the belief that the superior hardiness of the latter would 

 make the budded tree less susceptible to cold and also because 

 seeds of the Mexican race are more easily obtainable. Recently 

 in Florida the Guatemalan has been budded on the West Indian, 

 the West Indian on the Mexican, and so on ; and these experi- 

 ments, although not extensive, have served to indicate that the 

 question of stocks is of great importance, and demands further 

 investigation. Not only does it appear that the hardiness of 

 the tree may in a measure depend on the nature of the root 

 stock, but the congeniality of the various races, when budded 

 on each other, seems to differ. Attempts to bud the West 

 Indian on the Mexican have produced rather indifferent results 

 in Florida, the buds making a poor union and growing very 

 slowly. The Mexican race has not been tried on the West 

 Indian extensively, but this practice appears to succeed better 

 than the reverse. The Guatemalan buds well on the West 

 Indian, but is perhaps preferable on Guatemalan roots. 



Seeds are usually obtainable most abundantly in August and 

 September in Florida, a month or two later in California, having 

 reference to the West Indian race in the former state and the 

 Mexican in the latter. These two races are those generally 

 used for seedling stocks. The seeds should be planted soon 

 after removal from the fruit, although they are viable for sev- 

 eral weeks if kept cool and dry. Seeds of the Mexican race 



