REPORT OF THE FIRST SEMI-ANNCAL MEETING 



VARIETIES OF THE AVOCADO 



F. O. Popenoe, President of West India Gardens, Altadena, Cal. 



I belieA"e it can safely be said that the most important prob- 

 lem which we avocado growers of California are facing at the 

 present time is the question of varieties. I have just had this 

 brought home to me very forcibly by finding, when I came to 

 prepare a list of all the varieties which had been planted in Cali- 

 fornia, that the number totals well above eighty. How is the pros- 

 pective planter to know which of these are best suited to his needs? 

 And how are we to reduce this enormous number to the 10 or 15 

 choice varieties which we will ultimately want to cultivate? 



Our experience in California with avocados is as yet limited. 

 l)ut we are getting more data every 3'ear, and we begin to feel, 

 in regard to certain varieties, that they can be planted with a suf- 

 ficient degree of safety to make a practical horticultural enterprise. 

 Every fruit grower knows that there is a constant shifting and 

 changing of A'arieties, and rarely can we settle down to cultivate 

 any one permanently. We are seeing orchards budded over every 

 year, because the owner Avas not satisfied with the variety he was 

 growing. It is hopeless, I suppose, for us to expect that we can 

 settle down upon any limited number of avocado varieties for a 

 long time to come, but we can and must cut down the number to 

 as few as possible, and be able to recommend those which will be 

 absolutely the best obtainable. This association can, I believe, be 

 of great assistance to the public in this connection, by disseminat- 

 ing information concerning the most desirable varieties and elimi- 

 nating the inferior ones. 



Just now it seems to be a fad for any one Avho has a seedling 

 avocado tree Avhich is bearing fruits of even fairly good quality, to 

 give the variety a name and propagate it. That is Avhy we have 

 86 varieties growing in California today. Of course, it is highly 

 desirable that Ave test as many A arieties as possible, as it is only 

 in this Avay that Ave can ever hope to standardize the A'ery best, 

 but let us try to aA'oid burdening ourseh'es unnecessarily. Most of 

 all, let us avoid confusing the mind of the prospectiA'e planter by 

 forcing him to choose betAveen a horde of unknoAvn sorts, some 

 of AA'hich may be absolutely inferior. Let us keep this industry 

 freed from the confusion caused bv numberless A-arieties. 



