32 



ANNUAL REPORT 1920 AND 1921 



are coming into bearing. A few of the top- worked orchards are bearing. The 

 avocado industry of Cahfornia is still an infant. The oldest budded orchards 

 are about ten years old and they are very scarce. The people who are planting 

 today, with the experience of the pioneers behind them, are indeed fortunate. 



There were, previous to this spring's planting, about 45,000 avocado trees 

 growing in California. The aggregate sounds like a good many, but when it 

 is considered that they are scattered in small plantings from National City to 

 Yuba City and that more than 50% of them will never make commercial 

 orchards, the acreage is not very large. 



Today there are five recognized commercial varieties of avocados, probably 

 not the ultimate best commercial kinds, but so good that one may feel satisfied 

 that they will always bring good returns. However, even in these five varieties 

 there are many variations, some strains bearing well, others very poorly. We 

 still have to find which are the best trees for propagating. This can only be 

 done through keeping individual records. Part of my work for the past year 

 has been to induce the growers, for their own benefit and for the benefit of the 

 industry as a whole, to keep records of their trees. Until a grower can be made 

 to realize that half his orchard might be worth twice as much to him five years 

 from now if he knew which are his drone trees and could work them over into 

 paying ones, keeping individual tree records looks like a laborious and expensive 

 task. Avocado records can not be kept Hke orange records as the fruits can 

 not all be picked at one time, or even at stated intervals like the lemons. The 

 keeping of records may however be a very simple matter. Fasten a tag to a tree 

 before the picking begins and mark on it the date and amount of each pick. 

 Number the tag to agree with the tree number, and when the fruit is all picked 

 gather the tags. For the planting of the future this work is very important. It 

 will take some years to make records that will furnish sufficient data to warrant 

 the term pedigreed buds, but in the meantime the selection of buds from the 

 best of the present trees is necessary. It will mean a difference of many years 

 and of thousands of dollars in the development of the industry. 



There were something over 1 00,000 seeds planted last fall. There will 

 be something more than 1 00,000 buds used during the year, and it would require 

 the services of a competent man to select and cut buds during the budding season 

 if this work were done by the association. Some of the nurserymen objected to 

 paying 2^c per bud above the owner's price, which was the price set by the 

 board of directors to partially cover the cost of collecting the buds. These facts, 

 together with the experience of the nurserymen's bud selection department under 

 Mr. Scott, caused the directors to decide that it would be wiser for the association 

 not to attempt to sell budwood to any extent until sufficient records have been 

 made to offer pedigreed buds. Consequently, our sales of budwood have not 

 been large. However, we are getting records started in a number of orchards. 



In spite of the extra expense this year, our balance in the bank is somewhat 

 in excess of what it was at this time last year. 



The work has been interesting, to some degree disappointing, as many new 

 enterprises are, but when my year's work ends on the 20th of this month, we may 

 feel satisfied that we have made very considerable progress during the year. 



R. Agnes McNally, Secretary. 



