CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



161 



within the bounds of accuracy to say that no avocado nurseryman has real- 

 ized a sufficient income during the five or six years in which budded trees 

 have been grown, to equal his expense account. 



Seeds and Seedlings 



Seeds from the thin skinned Mexican highland fruits grow stocks 

 that are at once vigorous and hardy. If the seeds selected are of good 

 size, weighing from two to three ounces each, they will produce stocks 

 large enough to take the bud in six months, while a tree grown from 

 a seed weighing one ounce or less requires about two months longer 

 to reach this stage of growth. Taken from a fully ripened fruit and 

 planted immediately — the correct practice — germination begins at once 

 (it is assumed that the seed is taken from a fall ripened fruit) but is 

 retarded by the cool weather of winter and does not assume activity until 

 April or May. 



With many of the hardy Mexican trees in bearing, an adequate 

 supply of seeds is now obtainable in California for the development of 

 the industry. Such seeds may be purchased for $2 or $3 per hundred, 

 but with the naturally increasing supply each year this price will tend 

 downward. It ought to be a matter of honor with every nurseryman to 

 use only seeds of the hardy character referred to, avoiding those from 

 Tahiti or other tropical regions. 



Germination is carried forward in a lathhouse for frost, heat and 

 wind protection. The seeds may be planted either collectively in deep 

 flats, or individually in four-inch pots. 



Planting in flats is the most economical method, but has the draw- 

 back of some difficulties when the young plants are transferred to nursery 

 rows in the open field, as they must then be planted with bare roots. If 

 a hot spell is encountered the plants suffer somewhat before they become 

 established. It may even be necessary to shade each plant with a shingle 

 for the first two or three weeks after planting. 



A box six inches deep of convenient size for handling, filled with a 

 mixture of three-quarters clean, sharp sand and one-quarter soil, will 

 afford a suitable receptacle. Set the seeds an inch apart with the pointed 

 end up and just slightly showing above the ground. A few holes in 

 the bottom of the box must be provided for drainage. Keep this mixture 

 of sand and soil moist, not wet. When the young trees are eight or ten 

 inches tall the boxes may be taken to the field, one side knocked off, and 

 the young plants easily removed by breaking up the loose mixture with 

 the fingers. They should, of course, be planted as rapidly as taken out, 

 with no opportunity for the roots to become dry. 



The method of starting the seeds in four-inch pots is perhaps the 

 most efficient and satisfactory. The unfilled pots may be set in beds and 

 a mixture of sand and dirt thrown on with a shovel. Thus the spaces 

 between the pots are also filled, which is desirable, as this tends to an 

 even degree of moisture. Level off the soil and plant, a seed in each pot, 

 water thoroughly and keep moist. Little loss is realized in transferring plants 

 so grown to the nursery rows in the field. An objection to this method 

 has been made and much discussion has resulted therefrom on the ground 



