CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



61 



rank second to the Fuerte in hardiness and are much hardier than the 

 Sharpless. They seem in this respect to be on a par with the Knight 

 importations. 



The Taft has long been looked upon as the standard summer Cali- 

 fornia avocado. The fruit hcis a rich flavor, analyzing 1 8 per cent oil, 

 and when the trees come into bearing they are productive. The Taft sea- 

 son is June to September. There are several serious objections that can 

 be raised to the Taft, — the trees are very slow growers, the budded trees 

 as a rule do not come into bearing early, and they are very susceptible to 

 frost injury. For this reason it may be supplanted by the Blakeman as 

 a summer fruiter or it may be found that the Spinks will completely fill 

 the gap between the Surprise and the first of the Sharpless season. 



An objection to the Blakeman is that it belongs to the Murrieta 

 strain of trees, and budded trees of all the other varieties introduced by 

 Mr. Murrieta appear to be very weak growers. The Blakeman shows this 

 same characteristic at Mr. Spinks' place, and the trees which he has are 

 making a very feeble growth; on the other hand, in Mr. Adams' planting 

 near Upland, the Blakemans make a wonderful showing. Probably the 

 best comparison of the Blakeman and Taft will be found in Mr. Adams' 

 planting, where these varieties are planted alternately in a long row. 



A.nother summer fruit that deserves further study is the Dickinson. 

 Judge Silent of Glendora has the largest planting of this variety. In spite 

 of the exceptional care which he gives his trees, a few of them are making 

 a sickly growth similar to the Dickey or Royal. 



Another avocado now fruiting in California that is worthy of ob- 

 servation is the Caribou. This is a variety that is fruiting for the first time 

 at Mr. Spinks' place. There are six trees of the Caribou, five of which 

 are bearing fruit this year. The tree is as beautiful an avocado tree as I 

 have ever seen, both as regards the quality and quantity of foliage and the 

 symmetry of growth of the tree. As an ornamental it would be a decided 

 acquisition. The fruit is a hard-shell and will probably average a pound 

 in weight. No idea can be formed now as to its probable fruiting season 

 or quality, but it looks very promising. 



I have paid very little attention to the thin-skinned varieties, for, 

 while they might prove interesting in home plantings or in varietal collec- 

 tions, the fruits are too small to meet the market demands, and therefore 

 cannot be given serious consideration as commercial possibilities. Of the 

 other thick-skins, budded trees of Colorado, Dickey, Presidente, Murrieta 

 Green, and Royal make a very sickly growth, or if they do live to produce 

 one or two crops, they die. The Solano has a very low oil content and 

 the trees are quite tender. The Challenge has a large seed, a low oil con- 

 tent, and a large amount of fiber. The Grande fruits in Mr. Whedon's 

 planting developed a black decay at the blossom end, and also showed a 

 large amount of fiber. This variety has been reported by George B. Cellon 

 in Florida as not showing any fiber (I have not seen the variety in Florida, 

 and therefore cannot give any first hand information concerning its be- 

 havior in that state.) At the West India Gardens, the Grandes have not 

 shown the black decay noticeable in the Whedon orchard, but some of 

 them cracked at the blossom end. The single Perfecto fruit that was 

 saved out of three that matured at the West India Gardens (the other 



