THE AVOCADO 45 



is too high to make the undertaking profitable. In California 

 the best time is as soon as the sap has begun to flow freely. This 

 usually occurs late in April or early in May, at which season 

 there is a period of three or four weeks when budding is more 

 successful than at any other time of the year. After this short 

 period, however, avocados are in active growth and the proper 

 sort of budwood is difficult to obtain, hence it is best to wait 

 until the growth has hardened sufficiently to make good bud- 

 wood. This will usually be late in June or in July, when bud- 

 ding can be recommenced and continued until autumn. October 

 and November are good months, although not quite so favor- 

 able as the first-named period in the spring. Buds inserted in 

 autumn frequently push out within five or six weeks and must 

 be protected carefully during the ensuing winter. Unless the 

 work is done very late in the autumn, the buds cannot be held 

 dormant until spring. 



Selection of the proper type of budwood requires more ex- 

 perience and judgment than any other feature of avocado 

 propagation, since the character of the buds differs widely 

 among varieties of the same race. Some kinds make such 

 poor budwood that not more than 50 per cent of the buds will 

 grow even for the most skillful propagator ; in other varieties, 

 such as Taft and Fuerte, 95 per cent of the buds can frequently 

 be made to develop into trees. In general, it may be said that 

 the budwood should be of recent growth, not soft enough to 

 snap on bending but beginning to mature. In early spring, bud- 

 wood must be obtained from mature growth of the previous 

 fall and early winter. In summer it must be obtained from 

 the current season's growth. In some sorts, such as Fuerte, 

 very young budwood can be used successfully, but that which 

 has commenced to mature is usually better. Buds can some- 

 times be cut from the tips of the branchlets and from 6 to 12 

 inches from the tip, according to the variety and the condi- 

 tion of the wood. Buds which have broken into growth should 



