34 



ANNUAL REPORT 1919 AND 1920 



P}^rus communis L, Pera: pear. Rather rare. 

 Spondias mombin L. Ciruela: red mombin. Very rare. 

 Iritis vinifera L. Uva: grape. Very rare. 



From the above list of fruits it may be deduced that Atlixco lies at the 

 meeting point of the tierra calienie or tropical zone and the tierra fria or temperate 

 zone (so-called). Fruits of the first-named region, such as the mango, the 

 papaya, and the zapote negro, do not grow with such luxuriance as at lower ele- 

 vations. On the other hand, the fruits of the temperate zone, such as the apple, 

 the pear and the apricot, can be grovsm, although they are not so successful as at 

 higher elevations. Fruits suited to a climate midway between the tropical and 

 the temperate (using these terms as they are applied in Mexico), such as the 

 avocado and the cherimoya, find in Atlixco optimum conditions. 



AVOCADO CULTURE IN THE VALLEY OF ATLIXCO 



Atlixco, while not the greatest avocado region of Mexico, from the stand- 

 point of production, is probably entitled to the palm in so far as quality of fruit is 

 concerned. Queretaro has more trees and produces much more fruit; but the 

 Mexican race is the only one grown in that region, and the fruits are small. 

 Atlixco, on the other hand, produces not only some large-fruited varieties of the 

 Mexican race, but also the splendid examples of the Guatemalan for which it is 

 renowned. 



I can, perhaps, convey an idea of the extent of the orchards by describing 

 them as seen from the summit of the cerro de San Miguel. Climbing this hill from 

 the edge of town, you see spread out before you the broad valley of Atlixco, with 

 Popocatepetl towering up on the northwest, only a few miles distant, and the 

 lower stretches of the valley, — the Matamoros region, — far to the south. Below 

 you, on one side of the hill, lies the town, covering an area one-half to three-quar- 

 ters of a mile in diameter. Extending around the base of the hill, from one edge of 

 the town to the other, and forming nearly three-quarters of a circle, are the huertas 

 or solares, — the gardens of Atlixco. These form a belt nearly half a mile wide 

 at the point where they join the southern end of town, narrowing to less than a 

 quarter of a mile on the west and north, and broadening again to slightly more 

 than a quarter of a mile where they unite with the northern end of towTi. The belt 

 is perhaps three-quarters of a mile in length. These figures are all approximate, — 

 the estimates which I made when standing on the hill. 



These gardens, while devoted to the cultivation of numerous fruits, as well as 

 other crops, contain so many avocado trees that in places the appearance is that 

 of an orchard planted exclusively to this fruit. In other places there are many 

 jinicuiles growing among the avocados, and always there are other trees which are 

 not noticeable from the hill because they are low-growing and are over-topped by 

 the avocados. Here and there is an open space where wheat, alfalfa, or some 

 other crop is planted. 



In addition to the trees in this belt there are other plantings of avocados in 

 the valley, but I did not see any of them. The nearby town of Tochimilco bears 

 the reputation of producing fruits as good as those of Atlixco itself, and the 

 quantity grown is said to be considerable. There are also many trees in the vil- 

 lages and haciendas between Atlixco and Matamoros, not to mention a large num- 

 ber in Matamoros itself. At some future time, when conditions are more favor- 

 able, this entire region should be thoroughly explored for desirable varieties. I 

 believe such an exploration would bring to light several worthy of introduction into 

 other countries. 



