168 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



Caughey 1 says : " It was introduced into the Hawaiian Islands 

 in very early times, and is now naturalized, particularly in cer- 

 tain parts of the Kona and Ka-u districts on the island of 

 Hawaii." He adds that cherimoyas are rarely seen in the 

 markets of Honolulu, but that trees are found in gardens 

 throughout the city. 



Nowhere in Florida is the cherimoya a common fruit. Trees 

 in limited numbers have been planted in several parts of the 

 state, notably in the Miami region. While they grow vigorously 

 they do not fruit so freely, nor is the fruit of such good quality, 

 as in many other countries. It is probable that the climate 

 of south Florida is too tropical for this species. 



As regards California, it is believed that the first cherimoyas 

 planted in the state were brought from Mexico by R. B. Ord of 

 Santa Barbara in 1871. A few years later Jacob Miller planted 

 a small grove on his place at Hollywood, near Los Angeles. In 

 the relatively short time since these first plantings were made, 

 the cherimoya has become scattered throughout southern 

 California, from Santa Barbara to San Diego. The climate 

 and soil of the foothill regions seem to be peculiarly suited to it. 

 A few commercial plantings have been made, notably at Holly- 

 wood, but since they are composed entirely of seedlings they 

 have not proved remunerative. Had budded trees of desirable 

 varieties been planted, the results would have been different. 

 In the largest commercial planting, that of A. Z. Taft at Holly- 

 wood, one seedling, more productive than the remainder, pro- 

 duced one year about one-fourth the entire crop of the grove. 

 Out of eighty trees comprised in the planting, only five pro- 

 duced more than a few fruits. By top- working the unproduc- 

 tive trees to a productive and otherwise desirable variety, they 

 could have been made valuable. 



For sheltered situations throughout the foothill tracts of 

 southern California, cherimoya culture holds great promise. 

 1 Torreya, May, 1917. 



