CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



47 



lost 1 per cent of them. In the early history of the industry I bought 

 quite a few trees and they didn't grow. I had a neighbor who planted 

 about seventy-five trees and lost every one of them. They grew quite 

 nicely for a short time and then stopped growing and died. I saw the 

 roots of some of them when he took them up, and they were matted 

 together. These trees were absolutely worthless, and I think it is a 

 mistake to plant in pots. When trees are from half an inch to 2 inches 

 tall, transplant them to nursery rows. Protect them and keep them 

 wet and they will grow right along. 



A member: I have done the same thing successfully, having trans- 

 planted seedlings with bare roots from the seedbed into the nursery 

 row. The water in such cases was put directly into the hole. 



Mr. A. N. Cadwell, of Carpinteria : I have had very limited ex- 

 perience in the matter of raising avocado trees from seed. I cannot 

 say very well how to plant them. When I started to plant avocados, 

 I knew that those I had seen planted before were planted in pots with 

 the ends sticking out a little above the ground. I was in a hurry and 



1 could not see well how I could plant them in pots and take care of 

 them, so I laid them down in a bed. I prepared a bed in a flat some 



2 by 4 feet. I planted the seed (almost dropping them) in sandy soil 

 that would not pack much with watering, and covered them with soil. 

 Some were covered to a depth of half an inch or more. I kept them 

 well watered and they began to spring up nicely, and they grew right 

 along. My son put out 1500 or more in the same way, but he had them 

 in smaller flats. The roots were so nice that I did not like to put them 

 in pots and so we planted them in nursery rows and they grew nicely 

 and we did not lose any of them. We can show you seedling avocados 

 put out four years ago that have made as nice a growth as you can 

 find anywhere. 



Question: I would like to know whether any one has any knowledge 

 of avocados planted near the sea that are doing well. 



Mr. Fisher: I have some growing very well. Most of them are 

 seedlings. They are less than a half mile from the coast, and it don't 

 seem to affect them at all. 



Question: Do they bear? 



Mr. Fisher: No, they are only about five years old. The seedlings 

 have not borne but have blossomed very freely. 



A member: Speaking about trees growing close to the sea, I would 

 state that in the Island of Hawaii they may frequently be seen within 

 one block of the ocean and doing well. 



Dr. Coit: I know of an old tree, perhaps twenty-five years old, not 

 more than a mile or a mile and a quarter from the sea. It has never 

 had any fruit or even a blossom, but it is a very healthy tree. 



Mr. Spinks was called on for some id^as in regard to the Associa- 

 tion. 



I am sorry to say that I am not a speech maker, as I would be very 

 glad to entertain you. There is one thing, however, that has been over- 

 looked by the various speakers. No one who has discussed this matter 

 has paid much attention to the importance of the tree. They all speak 



