Edible Products. 



48 



them up by countries. The names applied to the different forms are merely to 

 facilitate reference. It seems a curious fact that although the avocado has a great 

 variety of names in different countries the different forms in any particular 

 locality rarely receive distinctive appellations. Thus in Porto Rico, where mangoes 

 that to the casual observer appear identical are carefully distinguished and 

 provided with particular names, the many varied forms of avocados are all 

 called "aguacate" without further distinction. In Mexico also, where the variety 

 is still greater, no names for the different forms could be elicited from those 

 selling the fruits in the markets, although the qualities of the different forms 

 were keenly appreciated and Avillingly pointed out. 



As might be expected, there are several countries that claim to produce 

 the finest avocados, among which may be mentioned Colombia, Hawaii, Peru, 

 and Brazil. According to travellers familiar with the Pacific coast of tropical 

 America, the largest and finest avocados come from the vicinity of Tamaco, in 

 Colombia. These are said to be much larger than those of the Central American 

 coast and of equally fine flavour. In Brazil the finest fruits are said to come 

 from the islands of Marajo, at the mouth of the Amazon. As with most fruits, 

 the largest and fairest are not always the best flavoured. The delicate nutty 

 flavour of some of the small thin-fleshed kinds of Guatemala is seldom equalled 

 in the large thick-fleshed varieties. 



Guatemala.— The avocados of Guatemala form a very distinct group. 

 They are at once the most marked and, from a commercial standpoint, the most 

 promising type for introduction into our tropical possessions. The most peculiar 

 characteristic of the Guatemalan avocados is the unusual texture of the skin. 

 Unlike the Mexican and West Indian types, which are usually found in our 

 northern markets, the Guatemalan fruit is covered with a skin so thick and 

 unyielding that it suggests the shell of a nut. If pressed inward with the finger, 

 instead of bending or tearing, the skin breaks with a granular fracture. To 

 judge from Acosta's account, the avocados of Peru have a skin similar to those 

 in Guatemala, though, curiously enough in Costa Rica, midway between these 

 two countries, not a siugle hard-skinned form was observed. In all the Guatemalan 

 varieties the seed coats adhere closely to each other and to the cotyledons over 

 nearly the entire surface. In this respect they resemble the Mexican and differ 

 from the Cuban and Porto Rican forms, which have the seed coats distinct from 

 each other, the outer coat usually adhering to the flesh. The flesh of the 

 Guatemalan forms frequently contains objectionable fibres, but in many cases it 

 is entirely fibreless. In every case the line of division between the flesh and the 

 skin is distinct, and the flesh can be scooped out with a spoon and the skin 

 scraped, agreeing in this regard with the Cuban forms and differing from those 

 of Mexico and Porto Rico, where there is no marked line between the flesh and 

 the skin, and where, if care be not taken in using the spoon, portions of the 

 skin are taken up with the flesh. Fruit of this type is borne on the tall, spreading 

 tree common in Guatemala. The leaves are narrower and longer than in the 

 West Indian type, about 23 cm. (including the petiole, which is about 2'5 cm.) by 

 7*5 cm. wide, acuminate at the apex, tapering at the base. Leaves smooth above, 

 with depressed veins ; below, the veins are prominent, with numerous fine hairs, 

 and the surface is glaucous, with scattered fine hairs. Although in a general 

 way belonging to one type, the avocados of Guatemala that came under the 

 writer's observation can be separated into three forms capable of more or less 

 definite delimitation. Thick-skinned round. — This is the most common type in 

 the eastern part of Guatemala. There is great diversity in size and quality 

 among the specimens included under this form, and some of those found at 

 Guatemala City appear to be distinct, but they are not easily separated by 



