CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



37 



ditch from one of the numerous small canals; no system of furrows is used to 

 carry the water to all the trees, but the grower rolls up his trousers and stands 

 nonchalantly about with a hoe, occasionally excavating a short furrow to conduct 

 the recalcitrcint liquid to some portion of the huerta where the force of gravity 

 would not otherwise take it. After the water has run over the ground for half a 

 day, the supply is shut off and the work is considered finished. No tillage is 

 given after irrigation to break up capillarity and conserve moisture, but as the 

 ground is in many cases shaded by a dense growth of trees and shrubs, evapora- 

 tion is retarded to a helpful degree. 



I observed no evidence of pruning except where large dead limbs had been 

 cut away from old trees, and where the system of tree renewal observed in 

 Orizaba and Queretaro* had been practiced. This system appears to be em- 

 ployed less frequently in Atlixco than in either of the two regions mentioned. 



The trees differ in habit, some being broad and spreading, others tall and 

 strict. There is less variation in this respect, however, than is usually noticeable 

 in Guatemala. The lower limbs are nearly always cut away, forcing the crown 

 to develop six to ten feet above the ground. 



THE CROP: SEASON OF RIPENING 



It is said that avocados are marketed in Atlixco during every month of the 

 year. This would not be remarkable, were it not that the entire supply is ob- 

 tained locally. In Guatemala City avocados are always on sale, but they come 

 from many different elevations, consequently they do not necessarily represent 

 varieties distinct in ripening season, since the period required for the fruit to ma- 

 ture is lengthened or shortened by increase or decrease in elevation. Thus a 

 single variety, if grown at elevations of 2,000, 4,000, 6,000, and 8,000 feet in 

 Guatemala (or elsewhere in tropical America) would supply ripe fruit through- 

 out most of the year. 



Atlixco has, of course, a decided advantage over Guatemala in that two 

 races are comm.only grown, one ripening in winter and the other in summer. An- 

 other factor of great importance is the tendency of certain trees of the Mexican 

 race to produce two crops annually. 



If all avocados were left upon the tree until fully mature it might not be 

 possible to have an extensive supply throughout the year, but here as elsewhere in 

 tropical America many are picked one to three months before they have reached 

 complete maturity. This pernicious habit extends the season, but results in ob- 

 taining for the fruits a reputation for inferior quality which they do not deserve. 



The Mexican race ripens its main crop in Atlixco during July and August. 

 A few fruits may hang on the trees until October or even November. In addi- 

 tion to this main crop, there is an early crop, called the cuaresmeno, produced by 

 some of the trees but not by all. This early crop matures in March and April, 

 thus filling a gap which would otherwise intervene between the Guatemalan and 

 Mexican races, for the Guatemalan fruits are never allowed to remain on the 

 trees until April, and the main crop of Mexicans does not begin to ripen earlier 

 than June. The cuaresmeno crop of Mexicans is, therefore, of great importance. 

 We have observed this same tendency to produce two crops annually in the case 

 of the Northrop and a few other trees in California, but it has never been con- 

 sidered a factor in connection with the commercial production of avocados. I be- 

 lieve we should devote more attention to this matter. It may be possible to obtain 



♦See "The Avocados of Mexico: A Preliminarj' Report," in Report Cal. Avocado 

 Assn., 1918-1910. 



