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ANNUAL REPORT 1918 AND 1919 



full grown. About a week afterward I happened to see this and testing 

 one of the fruits found that it was very fair in its qualities. The grower 

 then tested them with me and agreed with me as regards their availability. 

 In fact, all of them were used and I may make a comparison by saying 

 that they were just as good as fruit of the Lyon variety which was picked 

 from the same orchard and which was supposed to be mature at about this 

 time. The incident above occurred in February. 



"In contrast to this, I saw some of the smaller avocados which were 

 blown off last fall which were sold about town, which were absolutely 

 worthless in every respect and which made one feel that a law should be 

 passed, putting avocados on the same plane as immature oranges.** 



It is a well-known fact that immature avocados have been imported 

 from Tahiti for a number of years. The fruits are picked before they are 

 full-grown and shipped under refrigeration. Such avocados satisfy the 

 epicure who has an extravagant desire for things rich and rare, but not the 

 connoisseur who is able to judge quality in fruits. Immature avocados are 

 very satisfying when dished up with a highly-seasoned French dressing, but 

 why pay an exorbitant price for the privilege of enjoying the dressing? 

 Why not pour the dressing on equally tasteless but less expensive food? 



The California growers have less to fear from the marketing of fruit 

 blown from the trees prematurely than from the individual who sells his 

 fruit green simply because he is in a hurry for his money. It should there- 

 fore be the aim of the Association to establish and maintain some sort of 

 a maturity standard for each variety. 



It has already been pointed out in previous meetings of this Association 

 that we must not conclude that a fruit having a high oil content is neces- 

 sarily of superior quality. Let me quote Prof. Jaffa in the 1916 Report, 

 p. 88: '*In fact it might be said that in some instances a fruit with a 

 medium oil content might be more desirable than one with a higher content 

 as is oftentimes the case with milk, the Holstein being preferable to the 

 Jersey on account of the fact that the latter is too rich in fat.** 



Although analyses of the same variety differ somewhat. Prof. Jaffa 

 points out that those varieties which yield a high percentage of oil will do 

 this consistently under proper conditions, while those which yield a lower 

 percentage will probably not increase the percentage materially by any 

 treatment which may be given to the culture of the respective variety. 



While we will all agree that a half or three-fourths grown avocado 

 will soften and become edible even though not very palatable, we must 

 admit that the same avocado would be incomparably more satisfactory if 

 allowed to reach a more mature state on the tree. Note, I say a "more 

 mature state**; if left on the tree too long the flavor and quality is very 

 likely to be impaired. An increase of from 26 to 28 per cent in fat con- 

 tent has been accompanied with a much poorer quality of fruit. 



Analyses of the fruit at Berkeley certainly show that the oil increases 

 with the ripening but the correlation between the percentage of oil and the 

 best edible quality has not been determined. 



Immature Chappelow fruits analyzed Sept. 24, 1915, showed 13.86 

 per cent fat; mature fruit of the same variety analyzed three days earlier 

 showed 29.10 per cent fat. Immature Challenge fruits showed a range 

 of 2.66, 5.78, 6.71, 7.75 per cent fat while more mature fruits showed a 

 fat content of 16.37 per cent. Immature Fuerte fruits picked October 10, 



