46 BULLETIN 743, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Avocados growing at this altitude in Guatemala are not subjected 

 to heavy frosts, but should be as hardy as the average of the Guate- 

 malan race. 



The tree did not produce any fruit in 1916, but bore a good crop 

 from the 1917 bloom. The great age of the tree and the unfavorable 

 conditions under which it is growing seem to have resulted in the 

 fruit becoming small and inferior of late years, according to the 

 story of the caretaker. Specimens examined were not large in size, 

 and they had undesirably large seeds, but under better cultivation 

 the size of the fruit might be increased greatly without the seed 

 becoming anj T larger. The quality of the fruit is so good and its 

 reputation so great that the variety seems worthy of trial in the 

 United States, though it can not be recommended with as much con- 

 fidence as many other varieties included in this series of importations. 



In productiveness the variety promises to be satisfactory. In sea- 

 son of ripening it is a little earlier than the average, the fruits com- 

 mencing to mature in January. They are not at their best, however, 

 earlier than March. Some of them will remain on the tree until 

 June or July. 



The fruits examined were small, but they are said to be normally 

 nearly a pound in weight. In form they are spherical to broadty ob- 

 ovoid. The surface is rough and deep purple in color. The flesh 

 is deep yellow, clear, and free from fiber, and of very rich and pleas- 

 ant flavor. 



The fruit, as produced in 1917, may be described as follows : 



Form spherical to obovoid ; size small, weight 6 to 8 ounces ; length 3 to 

 3f inches, greatest breadth 2| to 3 inches; base rounded to pointed, the stem 

 inserted obliquely without depression ; apex slightly flattened obliquely ; sur- 

 face rough, deep purple when ripe, with very few large yellowish dots; skin 

 moderately thick, one-sixteenth to one-eighth of an inch, coarsely granular and 

 woody ; flesh deep yellow in color, free from fiber discoloration and of very 

 rich and pleasant flavor; quality excellent; seed large, nearly spherical in 

 form, 1% to 2 ounces in weight, tight in the seed cavity, with both seed 

 coats adhering closely to the smooth cotyledons. 



COBAN. (No. &.) S. P. I. No. 43932. 



The Coban variety possesses something of a reputation in Coban 

 as an avocado of unusualty fine quality. In addition, it has a small 

 seed and other good characteristics, which combine to make it a 

 promising sort. 



The parent tree stands in the sitio of Filadelfo Pineda, in Coban, 

 Department of Alta Vera Paz. The elevation is 4,325 feet. The 

 ground beneath the branches is given over to a vegetable garden 

 with the exception of that to the east side, which is cut off by a 

 tall hedge of chichicaste (Loasa speciosa). The soil is a heavy clay 

 loam, probably underlain by stiff clay. According to the owner, the 



