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Edible Products. 



crop. The importance of the more hardy forms is apparent from the statement 

 of certain California growers that, if relieved of the danger and loss from frosts, 

 the avocado would be the most profitable fruit to grow, there being a ready 

 market and good prices. 



DISEASES. 



The only diseases of the avocado thus far reported are those mentioned 

 by Rolfs as occurring in Florida. Similar diseases doubtless exist in other local- 

 ities and will be reported as soon as the culture receives the same attention 

 that has been given it in Florida. Trees of the round thick-skinned form growing 

 in Guatemala were found to have their leaves badly infested with galls, and 

 also were eaten by a caterpillar. Apparently the same galls were here found 

 growing on the wild relative of the avocado— the "coyo." D. L. Van Dine figures 

 an avocado leaf infested with mealy bug. So far as known the flesh of the 

 fruit is never troubled with insect pests, a remarkable fact if true, for the flesh 

 would seem to form an ideal medium for their depredations. The seeds of 

 some of the smallest forms in the City of Mexico were found infested with the 

 larvae of an insect, and at Tapachula, Mexico, the cotyledons frequently showed 

 large, black excrescences, the nature of which could not be determined. Neither 

 of these troubles appeared to injure the fresh fruit, but if the fruit was kept 

 for any length of time they might become sources of decay. In Jamaica a 

 fungous disease that affects coffee trees is said to be definitely associated with 

 the roots of the dying avocado trees. It is described in the following extract : — 

 A coffee planter suffered serious losses from the sudden dying out of 

 trees on certain fields. As guano had been employed as a fertiliser on these 

 lands some years before, the planter attributed the mischief to the fertiliser. 

 On visiting the cultivation, I found that the damage was caused by a root 

 fungus, and that there was a definite connection between the roots of dying or 

 dead avocado pear trees and the affected coffee. Microscopic examination con- 

 firmed this view. I have examined similar samples from other parts of the 

 island which confirm the view that the ptar should not be grown on any lauds 

 intended for subsequent cultivation. 



THE AVOCADO IN PORTO RICO. 



With the possible exception of the pineapple, the avocado is perhaps the 

 Only fruit which Porto Rico is at present producing of sufficiently high quality 

 to enable it to compete successfully with the fruits furnished by the more 

 highly developed tropical regions. The quantity is also sufficient, although the 

 season is at preseut short, to warrant the opening of a crade with the United 

 States. First among the difficulties is the fact, already noted, that the public 

 is at present little acquainted with this rather unusual form of fruit. There is 

 however, already demand enough to show that it is likely to suit the American 

 taste. Again, the fruit reaches our public in such small quantities that few 

 have a chance to test it. That Porto Rico does not participate in the small 

 consignments that are now received in the United States is largely owing to 

 the difficulty in shipping the fruit, so that it will reach its destination in a 

 marketable condition. With the varieties now in Porto Rico it seems doubtful 

 whether this can be done except by shipment in cold storage. There are numerous 

 other difficulties with the present conditions which would have to be taken 

 into account before success can be assured. The trees, though numerous in the 

 aggregate, are so scattered— there being no plantations— that it is difficult to 

 secure anything like uniformity in the shipments. The natives allow the fruit to 

 become nearly ripe before it is gathered, in which condition it will probably 

 not ship well even in cold storage. The fruit is not carefully gathered, but 

 is knocked off the trees, a method which completely destroys the keeping qual- 

 ities of the varieties now growing in Porto Rico. The shortness of the season 

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