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REPORT OF THE FIRST SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING 



NEW ITEMS OF INTEREST 



Professor Ira J. Condit, College of Agriculture^ University of 

 California, Berkeley 



As the title of my paper indicates, the subject matter will be 

 more or less disconnected, but I wish to offer some notes on the 

 avocado in Central and Northern California, a few observations on 

 diseases and insects, a report of preliminary experiments on by- 

 products and some general notes on varieties. 



In the interior valleys of California as most of you are aware, 

 the avocado is being planted more or less extensively and it will 

 be exceedingly interesting to watch the behavior of the different 

 varieties under similar local conditions. The large seedling grow- 

 ing in V^isalia is about twelve years old at the present time. Accord- 

 ing to information recently received, the seed which produced this 

 tree was brought from Mexico and the seedling was kept for two 

 or three years in the cellar to protect it from the cold. Having left 

 the tree out one cold night with no injurious results the owner 

 decided to plant the tree in the yard. Previous to the cold weather 

 of 1913, when it was frozen back severely, it grew thriftly and bore 

 small fruit having a long narrow neck. The tree is again in a thriv- 

 ing condition, hoAvever, although it did not bear any fruit in 1914. 



There are two avocado trees growing at the Dallidet place 

 in the city of San Luis Obispo, one 25, the other 20 feet high. They 

 were grown from the seeds of some purpHsh-green fruits obtained 

 from Mexico eleven years ago. Neither tree has ever fruited, but 

 both were in bloom for the first time when the big freeze came 

 in 1913. They were rather severely cut back and, of course, set 

 no fruit that year. They are now growing vigorously and bid fair 

 to be large trees before many years. The seeds came from the 

 highlands of Mexico (Chihuahua) and they should be of a hardy 

 type; the trees were no more injured by frost than were old seed- 

 ling orange trees nearby. 



I have recently been informed that there is a large avocado tree 

 twenty years old, growing on the old Meissner place near Yount- 

 ville, the seed having been brought from Central America. 



There is a large avocado tree at least 25 feet high, growing on 

 the University campus at Berkeley near the Center Street entrance. 

 So far as I have been able to learn it has never blossomed, a fault 



