THE AVOCADO IN GUATEMALA. 55 



45 feet high, with a straight trunk 18 inches thick at the base, giving 

 off its first branch 18 feet from the ground. The crown is not very 

 broad, but open and sparsely branched, some of the limbs showing a 

 tendency to droops The age of the tree is not definitely known, but 

 is probably 15 to 20 years. The character of the bud wood pro- 

 duced by the tree is fairly satisfactory; the growths are short, but 

 the buds are well formed and show no tendency to drop. 



Lacking a definite test in the United States, it must be assumed 

 that the variety is about average in hardiness. The climate of Anti- 

 gua is not sufficiently cold to demonstrate the hardiness of a variety. 



The flowering season is February and March. The fruits ripen 

 rather early for this region, the first ones commencing to drop in 

 February, while a few hang on until April or May. The season may 

 be called January to April. This rather early season of ripening is 

 of especial importance to California, where the variety should have a 

 careful trial. Its productiveness is satisfactory. The crop ripened 

 in the spring of 1917 was good, but few fruits were set from the 

 blooms of 1917. This is nothing unusual, since trees of the Guate- 

 malan race do not as a rule bear heavily every year. 



The fruit is broadly obovoid, 1 pound in weight, rough and yel- 

 lowish green on the surface, with a skin almost as thick as a coconut 

 shell, but easily cut. The flesh is almost as yellow as butter, clean 

 i and free from discoloration, and of very rich flavor, while the seed is 

 comparatively small and tight in the cavity. The variety has every 

 appearance of being an excellent one. 



The fruit may be formally described as follows : 



Form obovoid, slightly oblique at the apex; size above medium to large, 

 weight 15 to 18 ounces, length 4i inches, greatest breadth 3i inches; base 

 rounded or obscurely pointed ; stem stout, 4 inches long, inserted obliquely with- 

 out depression ; apex obliquely flattened, depressed around the stigmatic point ; 

 surface heavily pebbled to rough, green to yellowish green in color, with 

 numerous small rounded yellowish dots ; skin thick, about one-eighth of an inch 

 throughout, not thicker toward the apex than near the base, as in many 

 avocados, woody, very brittle ; flesh firm, smooth, rich yellow in color, tinged 

 with green near the skin, fiber or discoloration entirely lacking, the flavor very 

 rich and pleasant ; quality excellent ; seed medium sized or rather small, 

 roundish conic in form, weighing 2 ounces, tight in the cavity, with both seed 

 coats adhering closely. 



TUMIN. (No. 20.) S. P. I. No. 44627. " 



The Tumin variety is remarkable for its unusual productiveness, 

 the fruits often being borne in clusters of two to five, a characteristic 

 which is quite rare in the Guatemalan race. The fruit is almost iden- 

 tical in form with the Trapp as grown in Florida ; it weighs about 

 a pound, and is of handsome appearance, with a smooth, glossy skin 

 of purple-black color. The flesh is of excellent appearance and 

 flavor. The seed is medium sized. Taken all around, this seems a 



