THE AVOCADO IN GUATEMALA. 53 



appearance. The skin is sufficiently thick to make the fruit a good 

 shipper and is of the characteristic Guatemalan texture. The flesh 

 is rich yellow in color, quite free from fiber or discoloration, and of 

 very rich flavor. The seed is tight in the cavity and slightly below 

 the average in size. Considered from all points of view, this bears 

 every indication of being an excellent little fruit. 



A formal description of this variety follows. 



Form almost spherical ; size below medium, weight about 10 ounces, length 

 3i inches, breadth slightly over 3 inches, base scarcely extended, the stem in- 

 serted almost squarely without depression ; apex rounded, with a slight de- 

 pression around the stigmatic point ; surface undulating to finely pebbled, dull 

 green in color, with numerous very minute yellowish dots ; skin not very thick, . 

 scarcely up to one-eighth of an inch over any portion of the fruit, separating 

 readily from the flesh, woody, brittle ; flesh yellow, greenish toward the skin, 

 free from fiber or discoloration, of firm, smooth texture ^and rich flavor; quality 

 excellent ; seed rather small, nearly spherical in form, weighing slightly more 

 than 1 ounce, tight in the seed cavity, with both seed coats adhering closely to 

 the cotyledons. 



NIMLIOH. (No. 17.) S. P. I. No. 44440. 



It is rare to find a large-fruited avocado which is at the same time 

 very productive. In the Nimlioh variety (PI. XVI), however, both 

 these characteristics are combined to an unusual degree. In addi- 

 tion, the quality of the fruit is excellent, the flesh being rich yellow in 

 color, free from discoloration, and of very rich flavor. The habit of 

 the tree and the character of the wood indicate that the variety may 

 not be a very strong grower. 



The parent tree is growing in a sitio belonging to Trinidad Her- 

 nandez, Callejon de Concepcion No. 28, Antigua. The elevation is 

 approximately 5,100 feet. The soil is a very sandy loam, black, loose, 

 deep, and undoubtedly very fertile. The tree stands close to a wall, 

 with no other large trees close to it. It is very poorly cared for. Its 

 age is not known, but is probably 15 years or more. It is about 25 

 feet high, the trunk 11 inches thick at the base, and the first branches 

 12 feet from the ground. The crown is broadly oval, of good form, 

 and rather dense. It looks, however, as though the variety might be 

 a diffuse grower when young, with long, heavy shoots inclined to 

 droop. The wood is unusually brittle, and the bud wood very poor, 

 the eyes being stalked or losing their bud scales and falling early. 

 The tree is badly attacked by leaf-gall, and there are a good many 

 scale insects on it. 



The elevation of Antigua, 5,100 feet, is not great enough to insure 

 unusual hardiness in a variety, and pending a test in the United 

 States it can only be assumed that this avocado is of about average 

 hardiness for the Guatemalan race. 



The flowering season is from the latter part of February to the 

 end of March. According to the owner of the tree, it always bears 



