CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



41 



"Young Le Blanc says they picked about 200 fruits last month (Novem- 

 ber), and there are about 200 more on the tree which are maturing very slowly. 

 Most of them will not be ready for picking until January or February. The 

 tree is now putting forth a few flowers. Unquestionably its fruiting habits are 

 peculiar. Le Blanc says that it bears every year but that some seasons it pro- 

 duces heavier crops than others. He thinks 600 fruits is a good crop, but says 

 if the tree were given better care it would yield a thousand. 



"The age of the tree is not known, but Le Blanc, after having investigated 

 the matter as carefully as possible, beheves it to be between 55 and 60 years. 

 In 1911 Carl Schmidt, in his notes on the variety, estimated the age at 25 years, 

 a figure which Le Blanc at that time thought to be correct. 



"The form of the tree is rare. It is very broad and spreading, though not 

 drooping. The main limbs extend almost horizontally from the trunk. The crown 

 can not be considered large. I have taken the following measurements : 



Circumference of trunk at ground 69 ins. 



Distance from ground to first branches 5 ft. 



Number of main branches -.. 5 



Greatest spread of crown - 33 ft. 



Height, approximately 27 ft. 



"The tree is growing in the corner of Le Blanc's hucria, with a high wall 

 near it on one side, and the house not far away on another side. The ground 

 beneath its branches is clean and level, but not cultivated in any way. Le Blanc 

 tells me the tree receives plenty of water; in addition to that which reaches it 

 when the huerta is irrigated, there is a drain below the surface of the ground, a 

 few feet from the trunk, and doubtless the seepage is considerable. In appearance 

 the tree is healthy and vigorous." 



Sr. Le Blanc generously gave me a dozen fruits, the best on the tree, and I 

 carried them with me to Mexico City. I sampled them as they ripened, one by 

 one, and prepared a description of the variety which I here publish in order to 

 place on record the character of the fruit produced by the parent tree: 



Form varying from pryiform (not necked) to oblong, the majority of fruits slender pyri- 

 form in outline. No round fruits such as those said to have been produced by one Fuerle 

 tree in California were found on the parent tree. The weight is 8 to 12 ounces. The vari- 

 ation in weight is not as great as in many other varieties, most of the fruits weighing about 

 10 ounces. The surface is distinctly pebbled, often having a wrinkled appearance around 

 the base of the fruit. The color is uniformly dull green, with numerous small yellowish dots. 

 The skin has a maximum thickness of 1 millimeter; toward the stem end of the fruit it is 

 slightly thinner than near the apex. In texture it is very pliable, but it is sufficiently tough 

 so that the flesh can easily be dipped out of the skin with a spoon. The skin peels readily 

 from the flesh when the fruit is fully ripe; its inner surface is characterized by none of the 

 hard granules which are typical of the Guatemalan race. In thickness and texture of skin 

 Fuerte is similar to the thickest-skinned forms of the Mexican race, but it seems tougher than 

 that of any Mexican which I have examined. The flesh is rich cream-yellow in color near 

 the seed, changing to pale green near the skin, the greenish zone extending one-third of the 

 distance from skin to seed. There are often traces of fiber in the flesh around the base of 

 the seed. In texture the flesh is fine-grained, smooth, very buttery or oily, with none of the 

 watery character often found in the Guatemalan race. The flavor is characterized by the 

 peculiar richness or nuttiness typical of the Mexican race, as opposed to the distinct flavor 

 of the Guatemalan. 7 he seed is relatively small to medium in size, and fits snugly in the 

 cavity. The cotyledons are often unequal in size. When the ripe fruit is opened, both 

 seed-coats cling to the seed, but sometimes they are not closely united and may be separated 

 with ease. The surface of the cotyledons is nearly smooth. 



In the 1916 Report of the Cahfornia Avocado Association, page 1 42, ap- 

 pears a photograph of two entire and two half fruits, one of each round, the 



