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Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



should be avoided, unless it is in tlie ease of young plants which have not yet come 

 into bearing. 



Practically all Feijoas observed in Europe which have arrived at the proper 

 age to bloom have flowered j)rofusely, whether grown in the open ground or in 

 pots in a conservatory. But there are some |)lants which bloom regularly that are 

 habitually unproductive, and this condition appears to be due in the main to im- 

 perfect fertilization of the flowers. 



French growers have tried to overcome this failure of the plant to fruit by 

 hand jiollination. The results have been varied, some stating that it has been 

 eminently successful, others that it a|)|)eared to have no effect and the plants were 

 as barren as before, but this may have been due in a large measure to lack of 

 skill or knowledge of conditions on the part of the operator. 



In California there are quite a few j)lants of mature size which are habit- 

 ually unproductive, altliough blooming regularly. It scarcely seems probable that 

 this condition can be due entirely to unfavorable soil or other cultural conditions, 

 although these have an extremely important effect. As j)ractically all of the un- 

 ])roductive plants are isolated specimens, it seems likely that the lack of foreign 

 jjollen may have much to do with the matter, and experience with a number of 

 seedlings during the past few years bears out this belief. Some thirty seedlings, 

 planted in a row, bloomed for the first time in 1911, «t the age of two years, and 

 every one set several furits and brought them to maturity, although it is quite com- 

 mon for the plant to fail to set any fruits for the first two or three years in which 

 it flowers. An older plant in the same location did not set any fruits until the 

 same year, though it had bloomed for two years previously, and was in a healthy 

 condition. 



But the fact that many isolated specimens are producing abundantly shows 

 that the plant is naturally not dependent on foreign pollen. The difficulty may be 

 due in many cases to a weakened condition of the plant, caused by unfavorable soil 

 or culture, and it is probable also that it is due in some instances to atmospheric 

 conditions. Certain it is that the culture of the plant exercises a certain amount of 

 control over its productiveness. Those which are subjected to harsh treatment or 

 unfavorable conditions are invariably sparse bearers. 



There is little likelihood that any difficulty will be experienced from this 

 source when several plants are grown together, and their cultural requirements are 

 supplied to a reasonable degree. 



The Feijoa requires but little pruning. A judicious use of the shears is of 

 course necessary to keep the bush in good form, and when it is desired to train it 

 to any particular shape a more liberal pruning may be necessary. But as the fruit 

 is produced on the young wood, pruning of a mature bush must be done at the ex- 

 pense of fruit, although it will naturally result in increased size of those pro- 

 duced. As the bush is frequently of open and spreading growth, and inclined to 

 be somewhat straggling in the young stage, it is necessary to prune sufficiently to 

 make it shapely. This point should be kept constantly in mind and the shears 

 not withheld from an unshapely plant. The tips of long shoots should be pinched 

 out to induce the plant to branch and form a compact body. The fact that the 



