The Alligator Pear. B37 
It was one of the old mission fruits, and was enjoyed by the 
early mining population until better fruits were available. It is 
about as large as a medium-sized pear, and has a pleasant acid 
flavor if one succeeds in escaping the prickles in getting at the 
interior of the fruit. The tufa is still a commercial article in a 
small way. Plants are grown readily from cuttings of the fleshy 
leaves. 
THE ALLIGATOR PEAR, 
The avocado, or Agua cote of the Mexicans (Persea gratis- 
sima) has proved hardy in several districts in the State, north 
and south. It is hardy in Berkeley, but has not vet fruited. It 
is not likely that it will be satisfactory without high summer 
heat and freedom trom heavy frosts, It is, however, one of the 
most promising of its class of fruits, as it is known to epicures, 
and its marketing at a high price reasonably assured. Mr. 
J. C. Harvey. of Los Angeles, gives this interesting account 
of it:— 
It is a handsome evergreen tree, and, in. the typical form, bears 
elliptical leaves from two and one-half to three inches in width, narrow 
toward the base, and about six inches long., In some varieties the 
new growth is of a reddish brown, ultimately becoming deep green. 
The fruits are pear-shaped, about the size of a Bartlett pear, and contain 
a single, rather large seed. When ripe, the skin, which is much thinner 
than that of an orange, parts éasily from the pulp, which is of a mod- 
erately firm though buttery consistency, and fornis, with lime juice or 
pepper and salt, one of the most delicious salads known to epicures. 
Indeed, the fruit is a perfect mayonnaise in itself. Few persons fail to 
like it, even at first, and in countries where it is common, it is esteemed 
above all other vegetable productions, both by natives and foreigners 
alike. The pulp is quite rich in a bland and most agreeable oil, said to 
be very nutritious. The tree attains a height of from twenty-five to 
thirty-five feet, and forms a handsome object when liberally cultivated. 
The tree is a gross feeder. Good-sized trees carry a large crop, which, 
after attaining a certain size, can be picked at intervals of a week or two 
extending over a period of two or three months, the fruits in each 
instance ripening in a week or ten days after gathering; and a very 
remarkable fact is that the quality or flavor of the last picking seems 
just the same as the first. 
THE WHITE SAPOTA. 
There are two old trees in Santa Barbara, one believed to 
have survived from the mission planting in the early part of the 
century, the other half as old, which have been held to be the 
white sapota (Casimiroa edulis). Dr. Franceschi has pointed 
out the probability that the Santa Barbara trees are something 
else or else a very inferior variety. Mr. Harvey, of Los Angeles, 
describes the true sapota as growing with him from seed from 
Vera Cruz. 
