4 3ULLETIX 743, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Amatitlan, a small town about 25 miles from the city of Guatemala, 

 at an elevation of 3,900 feet, produces a large proportion of the 

 avocados marketed in the capital, Antigua being the other principal 

 source of supply. Owing to the lower elevation, the avocados of 

 Amatitlan ripen earlier than those of Antigua. 



Momostenango, to the north of Quezaltenango, at an elevation of 

 7,400 feet, is the highest point at which avocados are abundant, and 

 they probably would not be common here were it not for the fact that 

 the town is particularly sheltered by its location and has a warmer 

 climate than is usual in Guatemala at this altitude. A large part of 

 the crop is marketed in Quezaltenango. Because of the elevation, 

 the season of ripening is much later than at Panajachel; hence, 

 avocados from the two regions do not compete in the Quezaltenango 

 market. 



In addition to the places mentioned, avocados are abundant in 

 many other regions, but in some the quality of the fruit is uniformly 

 poor. For example, the avocados of Senahu, in Alta Vera Paz, are 

 small and have very large seeds. 



The regions mentioned produce only the Guatemalan race of avo- 

 cados. The West Indian race is found along the coast and up the 

 valleys of the principal rivers to elevations of about 2,500 feet. No- 

 where, however, are large numbers of trees of this race grown. Here 

 and there one is seen in a dooryard, and in such towns as Livingston 

 there are a few, but they are never seen in such abundance as trees 

 of the Guatemalan race in places like Antigua and Amatitlan. 



POPULAR USES OF THE AVOCADO. 



In Guatemala nearly all the products of the soil are used in the 

 simplest manner possible; hence little ingenuity is exhibited in the 

 methods of utilizing avocados. 



The Guatemalan Indians, who are among the greatest consumers 

 of avocados in the world, merely break the fruit in halves (rarely^is 

 it cut with a knife) and sprinkle a little salt over it. Even the salt 

 sometimes is dispensed with. The soft pulp — the Indians rarely eat 

 the avocado until the flesh has lost its firmness — is then scooped out 

 of the skin with the fingers or a bit of tortilla. 



Among Guatemalans of European blood the pulp of the avocado 

 is very commonly added to meat soups at the time of serving. It 

 is the custom in many hotels to place a ripe avocado in front of each 

 guest, who opens the fruit, removes the pulp, and places it in his 

 soup. The flavor imparted is exceedingly pleasant. This mode of 

 serving the avocado seems worthy of adoption in the United States. 

 Another common practice is to serve a salad called guacamol. This 

 is composed of thoroughly mashed avocado pulp, vinegar, salt, 



