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1916 ANNUAL REPORT 



buds were there set fruit and I have now ten times as much fruit as be- 

 fore. I have a number of trees just commencing to set fruit and they 

 seem to appreciate the water as shown by the setting fruit. 



Mr. Barber: Mr. Whedon's statements in regard to what he has done 

 certainly follow the results in Florida. Mr. Simmons, who is in charge 

 of the Government station at Miami, states that in the years when they 

 had lots of rain they had lots of avocados. 



Mr. Fessler: I would like to give my experience in using blood on 

 young trees in the spring when just blooming. It is not well to use the 

 blood too early during the blooming period, but if we wait until the bloom 

 gets fairly well out, then it can be put on with good results. 



Question: What is the best time to bud? 



Mr. Barber: The budding season starts usually about the first of 

 April. It lasts for a period of about ten days, but is limited on account 

 of the supply of budwood. As soon as the season's growth starts, you 

 cannot obtain any more good budwood for six or eight weeks. Just ex- 

 actly which budding season is the best I could not say. 



Mr. Metcalf : About pruning trees, I would state that my experience 

 has been that if you prune anything off at all, the trunk does not grow 

 in proportion to the top where you prune, but if you let it grow right 

 from the bottom you will have a trunk large and symmetrical. 



Mr. Whedon: I want to qualify my statement made last October in 

 regard to pruning trees. What was meant was not that they would die 

 immediately, but that they would develop hollow trees. I planted 79 trees 

 in 1913. The nursery man trimmed them back about as he would lemon 

 trees and never painted them. About three months afterwards I went 

 to examining them and found that the pith had died back. In every one 

 the pith had died back several inches, so that the pruning does not nec- 

 essarily kill the tree immediately, but when you have a hollow tree, it 

 will not live long. 



Question: How late in the spring can trees be put out? 



Mr. Barber: I should say it would depend on the district. You could 

 still set through June, but I don't think it advisable to set in June unless 

 you are willing to give them special care. February, March, April and 

 May are the best months. 



Question: I would like to ask how much irrigation the trees should 

 have ? 



Mr. Barber: The frequency of irrigation depends on the soil. If you 

 have a light soil, irrigate every week; if a heavy soil, every two weeks. 

 You can't do them any harm if you irrigate every week. 



MARKETING OBSTACLES AND PROBLEMS 



By Dana C. King, California Fruit Growers Exchange, Los Angeles, Cal. 



When I was requested about a week ago to come before your Califor- 

 nia Avocado Association, I probably knew about as little of the avocado 

 business as one could and be interested in anything in California that is 

 grown on a tree. I had heard of avocados and had eaten them more or 

 less, but I had thought of avocados in the same light as we did a few 

 years ago of the Belgian hares, spineless cactus, and eucalyptus. 



