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ANNUAL REPORT 1920 AND 1921 



them were saved at Washington: these bear the numbers 42 and 45 in the 

 series of varieties I have been obtaining in tropical America these last few years. 

 They should, perhaps, be tested in California, for this work of Plant Introduc- 

 tion is full of surprises: but I do not recommend them to you for general plemting 

 nor even for extensive trial. 



The incident of outstanding interest during the course of the explorations 

 in Costa Rica was the discovery, by Oton Jimenez and myself, of a wild avocado 

 on the slopes of the volcano Irazu. We found it in fruit, but not in flower: 

 hence we have not yet been able to complete the botanical study of the species. 

 But basing my opinion upon the character of the tree and its fruit, I am inclined 

 to believe that we have at last fallen upon the true wild avocado, the prototype 

 of the cultivated Guatemalan race and probably also of the West Indian. 



The fruits of this wild avocado are the size of small oranges, quite round, 

 and dark green in color, the general appearance being similar to that of many 

 Guatemalan varieties. The shell is thick and hard, and the flesh, which is very 

 scanty and of gritty texture, has a strong flavor of anise. We sent seeds of this 

 species to Washington, and I am informed that about two dozen pleuits are now 

 growing in the greenhouses there. While this fruit is of little value for eating, 

 the plant will be tested as a stock for our better varieties. It is well-known that 

 the wild forms of fruits which have under intensive cultivation reached a high 

 state of perfection, often make admirable stock-plants, having more vigor than 

 the cultivated varieties. 



From Costa Rica I proceeded via Panama to Santa Marta, on the north 

 coast of Colombia. This is a great avocado region, from which much fruit is 

 exported to New York, and where, I am told, the avocado grows wild in the 

 mountains. I expected to find the same wild form which I had just seen in 

 Costa Rica, but I encountered, instead, a commonplace lot of West Indian 

 seedlings which have become thoroughly naturalized in the mountains some 1 5 

 miles inland from the port of Santa Marta. 



Among the varieties cultivated in this same region, I selected one for trial 

 in Florida, and named it the Fernandez (No. 46). This avocado has been 

 successfully established at Washington. 



In general, the avocados of Santa Marta, referring only to the cultivated 

 trees, are a rather superior lot of West Indians. Since, however, we are not at 

 present devoting much attention to this race, — practically none at all in Cali- 

 fornia, — and since the season was nearly past when I reached Samta Marta, 

 I did not long remain there. An early-ripening West Indian would be of 

 value in Florida, but I was not in Santa Marta at the right time of year to 

 search for such a variety. 



I next proceeded to Bogota, the capital of Colombia, where I made my 

 headquarters from August to November, while collecting in the eastern Andes. 

 The avocados of this region proved to be inferior West Indians, and I made no 

 effort to introduce any of them. The same was true of the varieties found in the 

 Cauca valley of western Colombia, through which I passed on my way to the 

 Pacific port of Buenaventura, whence I sailed southward to Guayaquil. 



On this trip down the coast I was fortunate in being taken on board an 

 American tramp steamer, owned by the Shipping Board. She was not allowed 

 to carry passengers, but the captain signed me on the ship's articles as Assistant 

 Purser. The boat had just come from New York, and everything which Ccime 

 out of the galley had an unmistakable American flavor. I had been living on 



