CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



59 



culture, whose laboratory is here in Los Angeles. He has made and will 

 make further analyses of the varieties which we have considered merited 

 further study. These analyses have not been made from a single fruity 

 At least three fruits from a single tree have been used for a sample, and 

 in many cases samples have been secured at different times from the same 

 tree. We hope by these and future analyses, that Mr. Chace will work 

 out a picking maturity standard for the different California varieties, as he 

 has so successfully done for oranges. Analyses have been made of the 

 standard and Redondo strains of the Fuerte, the Sharpless, Monroe, Lyon, 

 Surprise, and Lambert, and analyses are now being made or will be made 

 of the Blakeman, Spinks, Dickinson, Taft, and Caribou. 



Of the great number of avocados now growing in California, not a 

 single one can be found which possesses all the desirable characteristics 

 of the ideal variety. The following short list based on the past and pres- 

 ent performance are those which seem to approach the requirements of an 

 ideal avocado. This list which would insure in a single planting com- 

 mercial fruit throughout the whole year, is: Sharpless, Fuerte, Surprise, 

 Spinks, and Taft. A possible substitution might be the Monroe, or Lyon 

 for the Surprise, and the Blakeman or Dickinson for the Taft. However, 

 if all are included, we would only have a list of nine, which certainly is 

 much better than I 30. Further study probably would reduce the number 

 to five or six. 



The Sharpless is, in many respects, the most remarkable avocado in 

 California today. The original tree is owned by B. H. Sharpless, Santa 

 Ana, R. F. D. No. 1, and first bore in 1912, bearing 2 fruits that year, 

 20 in 1913, 75 in 1914, 250 in 1915, and over 600 in 1916-1917. 

 Its season is from October to March, and 9 avocados in perfect condition 

 were remaining on the tree as late as April 1 this year. TTie fruits aver- 

 age 20 to 22 ounces in weight, are pear-shaped, and when mature show 

 a beautiful bronze color. The seed is small and the flesh free from fiber. 

 The only objection that can be raised to the Sharpless is that the young 

 trees are rather tender. However, these trees undoubtdly will acquire 

 hardy characteristics as they grow older, as the original Sharpless tre« 

 passed through this last winter without any frost injury. 



Next in the list is the Fuerte. Of the desirable kinds, this is the 

 hardiest one of which I have any record. In Mr. Phales' planting near 

 Placentia and in the Hardin and Keller grove at Yorba Linda, young 

 trees of the Fuerte showed practically no frost injury the past winter, when 

 even the Knight varieties in the same plantings were damaged. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Chace's analyses, the Fuerte shows 25 and 26 per cent fat. 

 The only other thick-skinned fruit which runs this high is the Miller, 

 which has been reported as containing 26 per cent. At Yorba Linda, 

 Fuertes were picked this last season from December 28 to April 1 5 ; at 

 Altadena this variety was a month to six weeks later in maturing. A per- 

 formance record of all the three-year-old budded Fuerte. trees in the J. T. 

 Whedon planting showed a range in production from 1 to 85 fruits. The 

 only objection to the Fuerte is that the fruits are slightly undersized, only 

 averaging 12 to 14 ounces. However, because the Fuerte can withstand 

 more cold than any other desirable variety, it can be used in home plant- 

 ings instead of the Mexican thin-skins, and as its season is slightly later 



