THE AVOCADO IN GUATEMALA. 13 



remarkable than those of to-day would certainly have been the 

 result. Seed propagation has prevented the perpetuation of choice 

 varieties, and it is only by raising the general level of the whole 

 species that improvement has been accomplished. 



Among the several factors working in unison toward the horti- 

 cultural development of the avocado, the first which must be men- 

 tioned is the change brought about by removing the tree from its 

 native home in the forest and planting it in dooryards and gardens, 

 where the struggle for existence is eliminated and more favorable 

 conditions for growth are supplied. This in itself would undoubt- 

 edly tend to increase the size of the fruit. 1 Among many trees seen 

 in a half-wild state in northern Guatemala, growing among thick 

 scrub along the roadside or maintaining a foothold in the edge of 

 the forest, not one produced fruits of large size. It is not reason- 

 able to believe that all of these trees are from seeds of inferior 

 fruits, since many of them come from avocados brought from the 

 villages by the Indians. Unfavorable conditions of growth must 

 have an important effect in limiting the development of the fruit. 



Once removed from the forest and planted around the huts of the 

 Indians, other factors come into play. The most important of these, 

 as far as can be observed at present, are (1) the destruction of trees 

 producing inferior fruit and the preservation of good ones, and (2) 

 the carrying to market of nothing but the best fruits, thus dissemi- 

 nating seeds of good parentage and restricting the dissemination of 

 poor ones. Both these factors perhaps can be considered unconscious 

 selection on the part of the Indians. The second is not the result of 

 a desire to improve the avocado by disseminating good seeds, but is 

 due to the market demand for good fruits. 



Both factors can often be seen in operation. In coffee plantations, 

 when it is necessary to cut down avocado trees to make room for 

 coffee or other crops, the trees known to produce inferior fruits are 

 taken first and the best ones are often spared. The Indians when 

 cutting out old trees around their houses will frequently save the 

 avocado which bears the best fruits. 



During the ripening season the fruit from the best trees is the 

 first to be picked and taken to market, many of the poorer trees going 

 unpicked, in which case the fruits fall to the ground and are eaten 

 by the zopilotes (buzzards). The fruits purchased in the market are 

 often carried many miles, since the Indians come into the small towns 

 of Guatemala from great distances. When the fruits are eaten the 

 seeds are cast aside. The climatic conditions are so favorable, at least 

 during a part of the year, that a seed dropped upon the ground will 

 sprout, take root, and develop into a tree. Once sprouted and estab- 



1 Increase in the size of the fruit due to increased supplies of food is believed at the 

 present time not to be inherited. 



