42 



REPORT OF THE FIRST SEMI-ANNUAI. MEETING 



A gentleman of the audience stated that he knew of a hard 

 shell variety that ripens in January, and discussion brought out 

 the fact that this was the Spinks fruit, a specimen of which weighed 

 37% ounces, and was grown by Mr. Wm. A. Spinks at Duarte. 



On further questioning Mr. Popenoe stated that he felt that 

 the best soil was a rich, sandy loam, although in Florida he found 

 that trees do better on the heavier soil. In Cuba, where he had 

 seen some very good groves, they have a great deal of red clay. 



President Hart adjourned the meeting a little before noon, in 

 order to give the audience an opportunity to see the exhibits of 

 fruit and trees, and sample the various dishes of avocado that had 

 been prepared in different forms. Adjourned to 1 :45 p. m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION 



INDIVIDUAL TREE RECORDS 



A. D. Shamel, U. S. Department of Agriculture, attached to the 

 Riverside Experimental Station 



Ladies and gentlemen : Mr. Popenoe has asked me to say a 

 word, or make a suggestion, as to keeping individual tree records 

 of the avocado trees which you are planting now. I have not had 

 the opportunity, Mr. President, of making any observations or 

 carrying on any work with avocados, nor do I expect to have an 

 opportunity. The Department of Agriculture, however, has just 

 appointed a young man, Mr. L. B. Scott, who was associated with 

 me for four years in citrus work, to carry on individual tree 

 records with the avocado similarly to the individual tree records 

 we are carrying on with the citrus trees. 



It seems to me that the avocado industry at this time offers 

 a splendid opportunity for individual tree work. If you could visit 

 the citrus orchards we visit and find, as we do, that many of them 

 have from fifty to seventy per cent, trees of an inferior type, I 

 think you gentlemen who are the pioneers in the avocado indus- 

 try would be more interested in individual tree records as a basis 

 for propagation. My suggestion would be to every grower of the 

 avocado to number his trees and keep a record of the number and 

 weight of fruits taken from each tree, together with the time of 

 picking. 



