4G 



ANNUAL REPORT 1918 AND 1919 



relish, but as a food which builds tissue and yields energy. In this respect, 

 the avocado, as a fruit, stands in a class by itself, ranking higher in fat or 

 oil than the olive and so outranking even that fruit with respect to its total 

 food values. The importance of this announcement can not be over- 

 estimated. It shows that we are dealing with the most valuable fruit 

 known to man. The claim is not made that the avocado combines in itself 

 all the elements of a perfect food, but that it contains more of the essential 

 elements yielding on the average a far higher caloric value than any other 

 fresh fruit. It should be our business to make this fact known, especially 

 to medical journals and physicians, for it is evident that we are producing 

 and developing a food of high nutritive value which is likely to find its 

 place in the diet, not only of healthy adults, but also of invalids and of 

 the young. 



So important has this matter appeared to your directors that they 

 have appointed a committee to prepare a circular on *'The Avocado as a 

 Food," and another committee to negotiate with the Rockefeller Institute 

 with a view of having the institute investigate the use of the avocado for 

 medicinal purposes. 



Other scientific leaders who contributed to the success of this first 

 meeting were Professor Ira J. Condit and Dr. J. Eliot Coit of the Uni- 

 versity of California, Dr. H. J. Webber, Director of the Citrus Experiment 

 Station, and Professor A. D. Shamel and Mr. Wilson Popenoe of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture. Prof. Condit gave some news items 

 of interest on the avocado in Central and Northern California. Prof. Coit 

 reported on some experiments with shipments. Dr. Webber told of the 

 experimental work with avocados which he expected would be undertaken 

 by the Citrus Experiment Station, Prof. Shamel made a plea for the 

 keeping of individual tree records, and Mr. Wilson Popenoe gave an in- 

 teresting account of the Avocado in Florida and other lands. The in- 

 formation and inspiration imparted by these men of science was the out- 

 standing feature of this first meeting. At this meeting also Mr. F. O. 

 Popenoe gave a careful study of varieties, listing more than eighty which 

 had been planted in California. An exhibit of thin-skinned avocados, some 

 budded nursery trees of different varieties, and a mid-day luncheon and 

 display of avocado dishes commanded the attention of large numbers of 

 visitors and served to advertise the avocado in first class style. The 

 important step was taken of adopting the name "Avocado" as against the 

 popular misnomer "Alligator pear" and the unpronounceable Spanish 

 "Ahuacate." It was found that the word "avocado" of pleasant sound 

 has long been identified with the fruit and has been adopted by the U. S. 

 Dept. of Agriculture and horticultural societies. Another important step 

 which bore fruit later was the passage of a resolution urging upon the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, the importance of sending a special agricultural 

 explorer to Central America, Mexico and South America to secure and 

 import into the United States all varieties of the avocado obtainable. 



The Report of the first semi-annual meeting giving the names of 74 

 charter members, the papers and actions which have been enumerated, the 

 experience of growers and others in handling trees and fruit, and directions 

 for selecting ripe and satisfactory avocados and preparing the same for the 

 table embraces initial history of which any infant industry might well be 

 proud. The foundations were well and truly laid and we gladly bring our 



