60 BULLETIN 743, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



placed, strong, and not inclined to fall. If the young trees show a 

 tendency to grow tall and slender, they can easily be kept in hand by 

 judicious priming. 



The climate of Purula is colder than that of Antigua, though the 

 elevation is about the same. It is not sufficiently cold, however, to 

 test the hardiness of avocados of the Guatemalan race. It must be 

 assumed that this variety is of average hardiness until it can be put 

 to a test in the United States. 



The flowering season of the parent tree is in March and early 

 April. It blooms profusely and sets a heavy crop of fruit. The 

 crop produced in 1917 from the 1916 blooms was very heavy, and 

 another equally heavy one was set from the 1917 blooms. The pro- 

 ductiveness of the variety gives promise of being well above the 

 average. The ripening season commences about the middle of March 

 and extends to the first of July. It can probably be termed mid- 

 season or slightly later than midseason. 



The fruits are of attractive round form, nearly a pound in weight, 

 with a slightly rough surface of purple color. The skin is much 

 thicker than the average, but not very brittle. The flesh is rich 

 yellow in color, absolutely free from discoloration of any sort, dry 

 and oily, cutting like soft cheese. The flavor is exceptionally rich and 

 nutty. The seed is rather small and is tight in the cavity. The size 

 of the fruit conforms admirably to hotel and restaurant requirements, 

 where it is desired to serve a half fruit as a portion, and the quality 

 is so unusually good that it would seem that this variety is of excep- 

 tional promise. 



Following is a formal description of the fruit. 



Form spherical to roundish obovoid, sometimes slightly oblique ; size medium 

 to above medium, weight 13 to 16 ounces, length 3| to 4 Inches, greatest 

 breadth 3£ to 3|- inches; base rounded or obscurely pointed, the stem rather 

 slender, 7 inches long, inserted obliquely, without depression; apex rounded 

 or slightly flattened obliquely; surface decidedly rough, greenish purple to 

 dull purple in color, with numerous large greenish yellow dots ; skin very thick, 

 varying from as much as three-sixteenths of an inch near the stem, where it 

 is thickest, to somewhat more than one-sixteenth of an inch near the apex, 

 coarsely granular in texture, woody, but separating readily from the flesh at 

 the proper stage of ripeness; flesh rich cream yellow in color, without fiber 

 discoloration, firm, meaty, of rich and pleasant flavor ; quality excellent ; seed 

 oblate-spherical to spherical in form, medium sized, weighing 1J to 2 ounces, 

 tight in the cavity, with both seed coats adhering closely to the smooth 

 cotyledons. 



KAYAB. (No. 25.) S. P. I. No. 44681. 



Fruits of the Kayab avocado are of excellent quality and desir- 

 able shape. This variety resembles the Trapp of Florida and the 

 Chisoy variety of this collection in form and size. Some of the 

 specimens examined had large seeds, but the best ones had seeds 

 which could be termed medium sized or almost small in comparison 



