382 The Cherimoyer. 
pailful of sand, and plant the fresh bulb. This is to preserve the dor- 
mant plant from the wire-worms and insects, which will not attack the 
growing plant. As the plant grows, give it an abundance of water and 
all the slops of the house. Any kind of manure, fresh or old, ashes, 
leaves, and vegetables will soon disappear and be absorbed by this 
gigantic king of plants. As the rainy season approaches, pile all the 
leaves and twigs of trees around the plants. It protects the bulbs and 
makes the soil rich for next season. 
THE CHERIMOYER OR PERUVIAN CUSTARD APPLE, 
The oldest cherimoyer (Anona cherimolia) is growing in 
Santa Barbara. The fruit was introduced about thirty-seven 
years ago, and the parent tree has for many years produced 
abundant fruit in such perfection that the seeds have readily 
germinated, and trees thus propagated have been in successful 
bearing in several Santa Barbara gardens. The leaves are oval 
and pointed at both ends; flowers solitary, very fragrant, and 
having a greenish color, Good specimens of the fruit are three 
or four inches in diameter, often heart-shaped, grayish brown 
or nearly black when fully ripe. The flesh, in which thirty or 
forty brown seeds are found, is soft, sweet, and pleasant to the 
taste, being most palatable when near decay. Mr. I. H. Cam- 
mack, of Whittier, describes the pulp as of the consistency of 
ice cream or a custard flavored with a blending of pineapples 
and bananas. If it has a fault it is too rich. Apparently it has 
no particular season for ripening, yet the best specimens seem 
to be found in Santa Barbara in April and May. The cheri- 
moyer is also found in gardens in San Diego and Los Angeles 
Counties. It needs a well-protected situation. The fruit has 
been marketed on a limited scale in Los Angeles, and larger 
plantations have been made, especially in the Cahuenga Valley, 
near Los Angeles. The plant comes true from seed and the 
tree bears in its fourth year, and should have as much room as 
an orange tree. 
THE CHOCHO OR CHAYOTA. 
, The chocho plant is fruiting in Santa Barbara County, for 
Mr. Kinton Stevens, of Montecito, who obtained the seed from 
Samoa. Sechium edule is the botanical name of this plant, but 
it is perhaps better known as “choco,” “chocho,” “chayota,” 
and “Portuguese squash.” It belongs to the order cucurbi- 
tacae, and is a perennial vine, resembling in growth and fruit our 
summer squash or vegetable marrow. Jt is a very prolific 
bearer. Both the fruit and the great yam-like tuber are used as 
food by man and beast in the West Indies, where it is considered 
a wholesome article of diet. Thé roots often weigh as much as 
twenty pounds. They have a flavor similar to the yam, and are 
considered a greater delicacy than the fruit, which in a raw state 
