Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



7 



weeks before planting. During this time they should be occasionally ex- 

 amined, and when they show signs of germinating they can be taken out 

 and planted in pots. After this treatment they will start to grow very promptly 

 and it has the added advantage that only seeds that are sure to grow are 

 planted, and no labor is wasted. For most seeds a four inch pot is large 

 enough. The seeds should be placed in the pot pointed end up, or in the case 

 of the round seeded varieties, the end toward the stem of the fruit, and 

 about one-fourth of the seed left exposed above the surface of the soil. A 

 good rich soil is essential to the best development of the young plant, and 

 should be kept thoroughly moist, but care should be exercised to avoid 

 standing water in the pots, as this is fatal to either the seed or the young 

 tree. While the young trees should be grown in a warm situation, the direct 

 rays of the sun should be avoided. If the seeds have not been buried in 

 moist sand before planting they will often be slow in germinating, especially 

 if not grown under glass. Many of the seeds planted in the fall in a lath 

 house do not come up until the following spring. After the young trees 

 have made a growth of eight to twelve inches they should be shifted into 

 larger pots or cans, if it is desired to carry them on in this way, or set 

 out in the nursery to be grown until of suitable size to bud. 



By Budding. It is only during the past season or two that much attention 

 has been given to budding the avocado in California, although previously a 

 few nursery-men most interested in this fruit had tried it. Having no expe- 

 rience of their own in the budding of this particular tree, most of those 

 who have budded during the past year or two have simply applied the 

 methods they would use for citrus fruits, while a few others have followed 

 the instruction given in various publications by those who have experimented 

 in Florida. In all cases the results have proved the budding of this fruit 

 to be no more difficult than that of the citrus fruits, and when a little 

 more experience has been acquired the operation will be performed with 

 as much assurance of success as with the orange. 



For commercial purposes plants are grown in pots until about twelve 

 inches high, when they are set out in nursery rows three and one-half to 

 four feet apart, and fourteen inches apart in the rows. Here they are grown 

 and budded and allowed to remain until of saleable size, when the trees are 

 balled, or transplanted into pots, and allowed to become established before 

 being sold. 



The method of budding is practically the same as used for the orange. 

 In regard to such points as the best size of stock and buds, and season for 

 carrying on the work, there has, however, been some uncertainty. 



Experiments have been carried out locally on stocks ranging in diameter 

 from about one-fourth of an inch to over one inch, with budwood of all 

 sizes, from the young and tender tops to well matured wood of the previous 

 season's growth. Results lead to the conclusion that for small stocks, such 

 as will be obtained during the first summer's growth of the seedling tree, 

 buds from young wood of the current season's growth are the only ones 

 which will give good results. On older trees, mainly two-year-olds, the 



