﻿100 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



43932 to 43935— Continued. 



43935. "(Nos. 77, 97, 157, 189. Avocado No. 11.) Chisoy. As a com- 

 mercial variety this avocado seems to be particularly promising. In 

 form and size it is almost identical with the Trapp avocado of Florida, 

 but it has a smaller seed. The quality is excellent, and the tree has 

 borne two heavy crops in succession, which indicates that it will prob- 

 ably be as satisfactory in this respect as any in the set. Taken all 

 around, No. 11 seems to be one of the best of all. 



"The parent tree is growing in the cafetal (coffee plantation) of 

 Senor Don Eusebio de la Cruz, in the town of San Cristobal Vera Paz. 

 The elevation is 4,550 feet. Senor de la Cruz is the alcalde or mayor 

 of San Cristobal and owns coffee plantations containing many aguacate 

 trees, but he always reserves the fruits of this particular one for his 

 private consumption and to present to his friends. Beneath the broad- 

 spreading branches of this tree are numerous large coffee bushes. 

 which benefit by the shade cast by the avocado. The soil is a heavy, 

 blackish, clay loam of excellent fertility. No one knows the exact age 

 of the tree; it is very large and probably very old. Fifty years can 

 probably be set as the minimum. It is fully 50 feet high, with a broad- 

 spreading, much-branched crown which is 60 feet in diameter. The 

 trunk of the tree is 4 feet thick at the base. It branches about 12 

 feet above the ground. The growth seems to be quite vigorous, though 

 the young branchlets are not so long as they would be if the tree were 

 much younger. The wood is no more brittle than the average, and 

 the branchlets are well formed and stout. The bud wood furnished 

 by this tree is good ; owing to the age of the tree the twigs are not so 

 long as would be desired for most convenient handling, but the eyes 

 are well formed and show no tendency to drop at an early stage. 



" The hardiness of the variety can not be ascertained, since there 

 is no frost at San Cristobal. Until subjected to cold weather in the 

 United States it can only be assumed that the variety is of an average 

 hardiness for the Guatemalan race. 



" The flowering season is slightly later than the average, the tree 

 being in full bloom on April 1. 1917. The crop produced from the 

 1916 bloom was very large. No count could be obtained, but it may 

 be said that the bearing habit of the tree, as indicated by the 1916 

 and 1917 'crops, seems highly satisfactory. In spite of the heavy crop 

 from the 1916 bloom, the 1917 bloom was an equally heavy one, which 

 is being carried to maturity. The fruits can be picked in February, 

 but they are probably not really at their best until the first of March. 

 The season is therefore a month or more later than the average. 

 If allowed to remain on the tree, many of the fruits will hang on until 

 April or perhaps even later. 



" The fruit is handsome, and its quality does not belie its looks. It 

 is as large as a good grapefruit (20 to 24 ounces), with a slightly 

 rough skin of yellowish green color, somewhat thicker than the aver- 

 age, so that the fruit is bruised with difficulty. The flesh is of deep 

 yellow color, firm and rather dry in texture, entirely free from 'dis- 

 coloration of any sort, and of the richest possible flavor. No better 

 avocado, in point of flavor, has been found in all Guatemala. The 

 seed, in large specimens of the variety, is comparatively small, while 

 in smaller specimens it appears to be a trifle large ; the seed appears to 

 develop to more or less the same size in every case, independent of 



