CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCLATiON 



57 



fruits warrants it, by government regulation. Not all vv'inclfalls turn out badly 

 Many of them mature properly, according to the testimony submitted at the 

 meetings last year. But the percentage which withers or decays or is tasteless, 

 is what harms the industry. Therefore windfalls, if m.arketed, should be sold 

 as such and not be presented to the public as normal fruit. The problem of 

 when to pick is more difficult. The writer of an article pubhshed last v/eek, 

 who states that for the past nine years he has been studying the avocado under 

 local conditions, says, "One great fault at present is that fruits are picked while 

 immature, taste like raw pumpkin, 'and one dose is enough.' We have found 

 that they should be picked similarly to a pear, and also handled in a similar man- 

 ner. The bud end becomes a trifle soft, and when the fruit is taken and gently 

 lifted, if ready to pick, it loosens at the stem end, similar to a Bartlett pear. Then 

 if left a few days to mellow it is ready for market." This sounds as if the gentle- 

 man has had experience, chiefly with Mexican varieties, for the case is not quite 

 so simple with the Guatemalan varieties. Nature has provided a sure sign of 

 ripening for such fruits as the Spinks, Dickinson, Sharpless and Puebla, which 

 turn from green to purple and maroon, but it is not always possible to tell when 

 fruits which mature green like the Taft, Fuerte, Blakeman, Lyon and Perfecto 

 are ready to pick. The grower who is shipping his fruit some distance so that 

 it is a week or more in transit cannot take the risk of waiting until the fruit is 

 mellow. He must ship it in firm condition. Moreover, in shipping short dis- 

 tances it is not practicable to ship mellow fruit because some days may pass before 

 the dealer effects a sale. Growers are not, therefore, to be accused lightly of ship- 

 ping unripe or immature fruit. 



Some action should soon be taken to assist members of the Association in the 

 sale of their fruit. Growers here and there, who are favorably situated or who 

 have established a reputation have no difficulty in disposing of the crops they 

 raise at present to hotels and clubs, but we hear frequently of those who cannot 

 market what they raise. The only feasible plan suggested thus far to meet this 

 situation is to establish a selling agency in Los Angeles to handle fruit from our 

 members on a commission basis. This may lead to the standardizing of prices 

 per dozen for the approved varieties or to seHing by the pound. 



The adoption or a standard type of carrier to use in shipping California 

 avocados has been urged upon the Association by Mr. L. B. Scott, who advo- 

 cates the six basket crate as used by the growers in Florida. Reference to this 

 standard carrier was made by Mr. George S. McClure in his article entitled, 

 "What About the Avocado," printed in our annual report for 1918-19. The 

 reasons advanced for adopting the six-basket crate are that it is known on the 

 market and would, therefore, receive better consideration from the trade. It 

 is also used for shipping tomatoes, peaches, plumbs, peppers, okra, persimmons 

 and guavas and, therefore, there should not be much difficulty in obtaining shook 

 when shipments from California warrant the purchase of crate material in large 

 quantities. In some of the Florida shipments the baskets are not used, the fruits 

 being packed in the crates in excelsior. Mr. Scott points out, however, that the 

 use of the baskets would be advisable in many cases as the original package 

 could then be broken up and sold to several retailers. This in the case of 

 avocados would be especially desirable in certain markets where the demand of any 

 retailer in a single day might not amount to more than a few fruits. We have 

 been informed that the Climax Basket, such as used in Florida, is not manufac- 

 tured on this coast. The basket made here is known as a five-pound basket and 

 crates are made to hold four of these baskets. I have had a sample made of 



