58 



1916 ANNUAL REPORT 



The result has been won- 

 derful, indeed, and far 

 beyond any result that 

 could have been predict- 

 ed. The seedling trees 

 have been found to be ex- 

 ceptionally variable in all 

 important characters, 

 such as, season of ma- 

 turing, type and habit of 

 growth, size, shape and 

 quality of fruit, and the 

 like. The range of varia- 

 tion exhibited is wonder- 

 ful and is to be account- 

 ed for probably from the 

 wide range of different 

 sources from which the 

 seeds were imported and 

 the long years of accu- 

 mulated variations that 

 have been produced in 

 the native home of the 

 fruit through its exten- 

 sive production as seed- 

 lings, vdthout propagation 

 by budding or grafting. 

 It is fortunate for us at 

 this stage that we are 

 able to reap the benefit 

 from these accumulated 

 natural variations. Al- 

 ready over 50 of these 

 promising native Califor- 

 nia seedlings have been 



Figure 3. — Parent tree of Dickinson avocado atgjyen varietal names and 



679 West 35th Street, Los Angeles 

 by H. J. Webber) 



Cal. (Photo' 



are being more or less 

 extensively propagated 

 for planting. 



The intensive interest in the development has also led several enter- 

 prising growers and nurserymen to secure buds from promising trees in 

 Mexico and Guatemala to be grown and tested here. 



While the result of this rapid development is highly creditable and 

 of the greatest advantage to the industry ultimately, it nevertheless is 

 accompanied with grave danger. Already we have over a hundred va- 

 rieties to choose from in planting an orchard, and in almost no case 

 have we adequate data and knowledge regarding any of them, to enable 

 the planter to judge which are the superior ones. These new seedling 

 varieties have been named and introduced mainly by various parties 



