104 



1916 ANNUAL REPORT 



have been old enough but have never set a fruit. I hope they will 

 change this habit when they get older. 



Varieties that are hard to handle. — We have about one hundred and 

 twenty-five or more varieties in the state, and one-fourth of that num- 

 ber would be plenty. We can carry a larger number of varieties of 

 the Mexican type as they will be for home use and local trade, but when 

 it comes to the commercial varieties I believe we should have but few 

 varieties. Some markets prefer the black, others the green colored 

 fruit. I think that the size and shape are the most important fruit char- 

 acters. Fruit weighing from three-fourths of a pound to one and a half 

 pounds, would be a good size; round, or if not round, the nearer the 

 better; and firm in seed. At Honolulu some think the loose seed the 

 better fruit. In examining the fruit, they first take it up and shake it, 

 and the looser the seed the better they consider the fruit. 



As soon as our varieties imported from Mexico commence to fruit, 

 it will be interesting to see how they will do in this climate, and when 

 we have imported all of the varieties from other countries, we shall, 

 I hope be able to show fruit far superior to any now cultivated in 

 California. 



Pruning. — At the last meeting I attended, the majority of the mem- 

 bers favored light or no pruning for the avocado. I was hoping that I 

 could attend this meeting to get some instructions on pruning. I have 

 formed my tops low, and a great many of the limbs are resting on the 

 ground. The time to prune is another question I shall experiment on 

 in the spring. I prefer that time to the fall. If done in the fall, 

 pruning might force the sap out and start fresh growth for the frost. 

 In the spring I will cut the bottom limbs off so the air can circulate 

 under the tree; then thin the top so the air and light can pass through. 



The Taft is about as difficult a tree to handle as any variety I have 

 experimented with. I experimented on some last spring, taking off con- 

 siderable brush, but they do not show it now. Another difficulty with the 

 Taft is, it is a tree that wants watching to keep a head or leader. You 

 tie up a branch that looks the best, for a leader, and in a few weeks 

 there is another that has grown faster and looks as though it would 

 be a better limb for the purpose. I will keep on trying and if my bam- 

 boo holds out, I believe I shall succeed. If this is not attended to and 

 such a leader formed, you will have a fork in your tree that will split 

 down and spoil the tree. 



New varieties. — I have shipped from Hawaii several hundred seed 

 of the best avocado fruit they produce there and have distributed these 

 from San Diego to Santa Barbara in tropical places in the hope of 

 getting some good new varieties. This year I have budded a few of 

 the best of these varieties, and shall distribute them to those that will 

 give them good care, and I hope we shall find some varieties that will 

 be superior to our best. 



