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1916 ANNUAL REPORT 



One of them is the Spinks variety and the second one, the Bartley va- 

 riety, cultivated respectively by Mr. W. A. Spinks and Mr. E. D. 

 Bartley. These new varieties, from their appearance, seem to be ex- 

 ceedingly promising for trial. 



THE CLASSIFICATION AND REGISTRATION OF VARIETIES 

 H. J. Webber, Director, Citrus Experiment Station. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Association: 



Now my pleasant task is over, and I come to the more prosaic task 

 Your directors appointed a committee of five members to consider and 

 study the classification and registration of varieties and their nomen- 

 clature and other things of similar nature. 



I think we all realize that in a new industry of this kind we are 

 dependent upon getting good varieties. We may talk about irrigation, 

 fertilization, and cultivation, and such fundamental things, but after 

 all at the present time the most important thing in the avocado industry, 

 in my judgment, and I think in the judgment of the committee, is the 

 obtaining of superior varieties. 



I was very much interested in a statement made by one of the 

 expert market men in the citrus industry to the effect that in the 

 citrus industry the marketing question was most important. In the 

 avocado industry, it is not a question of marketing primarily but of 

 getting the best varieties of fruit in order to establish a market. 

 Possibly our industry is growing too rapidly and taking up varieties 

 that have not been thoroughly tried out. The question most frequently 

 asked of the University men is, "What are the best varieties to 

 plant?" 



The present most important problem is to choose the varieties that 

 are going to succeed the best. We know well that the majority of the 

 varieties that we are talking about are not thoroughly tested varieties 

 in any sense of the word. There are some varieties that we are plant- 

 ing on the basis of what they are supposed to do rather than on known 

 performance records under California conditions. It is of the highest 

 necessity that thorough tests be made and that the fruits be studied, 

 and reliable records published. 



One of the main lines of work of this committee is expected to 

 be the judging of the seedlings and importations brought to the atten- 

 tion of the Association. This is a work similar to that of the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society and various other societies of similar na- 

 ture in stimulating the production of improved new sorts through 

 awards of medals and prizes. It seems to your committee that one of 

 the primary things for this Association to do is to establish some safe 

 method to get at the judgment of fruits. 



We would like to have the Association discuss the exhibition and 

 the methods to be pursued in the future. We have before us in this 

 Association a most wonderful experience. I know of no case where an 

 association has been organized in the very beginning of an industry and 

 where the history of the importation and the history of every original 

 seedling tree of every variety is so well known and where we can 



