448 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



should be selected from young vigorous seedlings whose stems 

 are about f inch in diameter at the base. Budwood is taken 

 from the ends of the branches, but of fairly well matured wood 

 which has acquired an ash-gray color. The buds are cut 

 about 1-| inches long, leaving any wood that may adhere to 

 them, and are inserted in T-incisions, after which they are 

 bound firmly in place with waxed tape. At the end of two 

 to four weeks, depending on the weather, they may be un- 

 wrapped and then rewrapped loosely, leaving the bud exposed 

 so that it may start into growth, at the same time lopping back 

 the stock to a point three or four inches above the bud. In 

 the tropics budding can probably be done at almost any season 

 of the year ; in California spring and summer, when the stock 

 plants are in most active growth, are the best times. 



Seedling variation results in some trees being very produc- 

 tive, while others bear little fruit. No budded trees have 

 yet come into bearing. The ripening season in Guatemala is 

 April and May; in Florida it is May; in Mexico it extends 

 from May to July; and in California it begins in September 

 and ends in November. Because of its thin skin and delicate 

 texture, the fruit does not ship well, unless picked while still 

 hard and dispatched so as to reach its destination before it 

 has had time to soften. 



Several horticultural varieties have been described, but none 

 has been propagated or planted extensively. Harvey and 

 Maechtlen are two which have been offered by the trade in 

 California; Parroquia and Gillespie have been described, but 

 not propagated. 



THE TUNA 

 (Opuntia spp.) 



Several species of Opuntia, notably 0. Ficus-indica, Mill., 

 and 0. megacantha, S. D., are extensively grown in tropical and 



