Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



237 



Feijoa is found in two distinct forms of growth, one upright and the other spread- 

 ing, makes it necessary to prune according to the individual character of the plant, 

 the spreading form requiring much more attention than the upright. 



For permanent cultivation the plants should not be set closer than fifteen to 

 eighteen feet. While it may not be desirable to let the bush spread to an unlim- 

 ited size, this distance will be necessary when the plants are mature, if any culti- 

 vating is to be done between them. Andre recommended that the plant be grown 

 against a wall. This is undoubtedly a good practice in countries where the weather 

 is cold at the time of ripening, as the shelter of the wall and the heat reflected 

 from it assists materially in ripening the fruits. 



Seedlings will come into bearing at three or four years of age if good culti- 

 vation is given them. Plants propagated asexually bear somewhat earlier, two 

 years being the usual age for layered plants. It is not known just how long the 

 plant will continue in profitable bearing — Andre's twentj^-two-year-old bush seems 

 to be increasing rather than decreasing in production. 



Figure 96. Showing variation in form and size among fruits from the same seedling 

 tree. These probably represent bud variations. 



Season 



The season of ripening varies with different varieties, but can be said in 

 general to be November and December. The Hehre variety matures much earlier, 

 September and October being its season. The locality in which the fruit is grown 

 .also exercises a certain amount of control over the season in which it ripens, as 

 would be expected. 



In most instances the fruits fall wlicn mature, but are not then ready for 

 eating. They should be laid away in a cool place until they are in condition for 

 use, which can be detected by their becoming slightly soft, and also by the odor, 

 — a fragrance that is most delightful. 



The fruits should be allowed to hang on the bush as long as they will do 

 so, as they increase in size up to the moment they fall, and their growtli during 

 the last few weeks is much more rapid than at any other time. If picked before 



