CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



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lowlands, where this race is not so common but nevertheless is occasionally 

 seen, the season is somewhat earlier than on the plateau. At Orizaba I 

 found it ripening in May. The elevation here is 4200 feet, but the climate 

 is warmer than is sometimes the case at this elevation, due to the exposure. 

 The season is by no means so long in the lowlands as on the plateau. 



The Guatemalan race I have not yet been able to observe, but it is 

 said to ripen at Atlixco from November to March. I suspect that the fruits 

 picked in November are not fully ripe, and that the season is more properly 

 January or February to May. In the Guadalajara region the season for 

 avocados is said to be December to March, and while I have not yet ex- 

 amined fruit from this region I believe the Guatemalan race to be the one 

 grown there. 



The West Indian race ripens on the coast from June to August. July 

 is the principal month. A few fruits may hang on until September. At 

 Orizaba, where it is extensively grown, it ripens slightly later than on the 

 coast, due to the elevation. 



The pernicious habit of picking avocados before they are fully ripe is 

 as common in Mexico as in Guatemala. I wish to urge upon the members 

 of the California Avocado Association the importance of suppressing this 

 custom in the United States. 



The methods employed in harvesting the fruit in Mexico are primi- 

 tive, so far as I have seen them, and can give us nothing but negative sug- 

 gestions. A boy is often sent up into the tree, where he picks all the fruits 

 he can reach and drops them to the gruond. Those which are far out on 

 the ends of the limbs are reached by means of a long bamboo pole with a 

 hook on the end. After they have fallen to the ground the fruits are gath- 

 ered up and placed in baskets or sacks, in which they are carried to market. 



The method of shipping avocados which is employed in Mexico seems 

 to be an excellent one. Large baskets, — straight sided and open at the top, 

 commonly 12 to 18 inches broad and deep, — are used in place of the 

 wooden boxes or crates to which Californians are accustomed. The fruits 

 are packed rather tightly in straw or excelsior, plenty of packing material 

 being used. When the basket is full, the top is covered with burlap, which 

 is sewed down tightly. Naturally, such a package as this requires more 

 care in hcuidling than a wooden crate, but as this method of shipment is 

 extensively used in Mexico, not only for avocados but for many other pro- 

 ducts, railway employees seem to understand that a certain amount of care 

 is required. In a warm climate this method of packing is probably better 

 than that used in the United States, as it allows the air to circulate through- 

 out and thus prevents the fruit from heating. It is generally recognized that 

 avocados can be shipped long distances if kept cool, but if allowed to heat 

 they spoil rapidly. 



The Fruit: Its Character and Quality 



The West Indian avocados of the Mexican lowlands are as a rule 

 inferior in quality. The majority of them are small fruits, not over six 

 ounces in weight, and they have enormous seeds. There are, however, a 

 few excellent fruits of this race in Mexico. I am told that those of Yucatan 

 and Tabasco are good. I have not been able to verify this, but I have 

 examined the fruits of the Tapachula district, in the extreme southern end 

 of Chiapas, right up against the Guatemalan frontier, and I found them to 



