68 



ANNUAL REPORT 1920 AND 1921 



It will be observed from the table that a new variety of the avocado 

 received from Sierra Madre, from Mr. A. F. Snell, weighing 313 grams, 

 shows 32.4 per cent fat for the edible portion for the flesh. The correspond- 

 ing figure for a second sample, weighing 300 grams, of the same variety being 

 32.9 per cent. This is the highest percentage of fat recorded by this Lab- 

 oratory for any variety of avocado. The next highest 31.6 is credited to the 

 Purdy grown at Whittier. The Fuerte, from Altadena, weighing 347 grams, 

 or about three quarters of a pound, contains 29.9 per cent fat. Another 

 variety, Atlixco, from Yorba Linda, weighing 352 grams yields a fat per- 

 centage on the edible portion of 28.5. Seven of the samples analyzed showed 

 upwards of 23 per cent fat, the average for the total number being 20.21. 



Table II presents the results of investigations carried on during the pzist 

 year, which have been limited to the study of 12 samples representing 8 dif- 

 ferent varieties. 



It will be noticed from the table that there are only two varieties showing 

 above 20 per cent fat. 



The seunples as received at the laboratory would seem to indicate that 

 the fruit is picked before maturity, the result being that the percentage of fat 

 obtained by analyses is lower than that which the mature fruit would yield. 

 This condition is well illustrated by the three analyses of Stephens No. 15, the 

 first sample being received between two and three weeks earlier than the second 

 and third. The percentage of fat in the last two is considerable higher than 

 that noted for the former. 



Unfortunately there appears to be a tendency upon the part of some 

 shippers to endeavor to market their fruit as early in the season as possible sot 

 as to take advantage of the higher price. Such a practice is not conducive to 

 the best interest of the avocado industry nor is it just to the consuming public 

 in that the immature avocado is not only lower in fat than the mature but is also 

 far less palatable. The result of marketing immature avocados will tend to 

 discourage rather than to encourage the use of this valuable, highly nutritional 

 fruit. At the same time it is not advisable to allow the fruit to remain on the tree 

 until the maximum possible of fat is obtained because the percentage of fat 

 will often increase for a period after maturity, the fruit in such cases becoming 

 soft and more or less unpalatable. 



