October, 1911. J 



313 



Edible Products. 



ally all Americans and Europeans are 

 absolute strangers. 



THE AVOCADO IN SOUTHERN 

 CALIFORNIA. 



By P. W. Popbnoe, 

 Pasadena, California. 



(Prom the Pomona Journal of Economic 

 Botany, Vol. I., No. 1, February, 1911 ) 



That the avocado will succeed in 

 Southern California has been proved 

 conclusively by the seedlings planted 

 fifteen to twenty-five years ago which 

 are now bearing, and by more recent 

 experiments with budded trees ; and 

 the establishment of an avocado in- 

 dustry in the immediate future is 

 assured. As to whether we shall proceed 

 at once to the production of the best 

 fruits, or whether the loss of much money 

 and time with the incidental disappoint- 

 ment to all concerned shall be caused 

 by the planting of inferior varieties is 

 the vital question at this moment. It is 

 to the solution of this problem that the 

 earnest endeavour and careful efforts of 

 all our nurserymen should be directed, 

 and it is in the hope that some help may 

 be given in eliminating wasteful efforts 

 that this article is written. 



For centuries the avocado has been 

 grown in Mexico and other tropical 

 countries, propagated only by seed. 

 Like other fruit trees grown from seed, 

 it comes true in but a very small per- 

 centage of cases. This has led to the 

 existence of a wide range of varieties. 

 All avocados so far fruited in California 

 are these mere chance seedliugs, most of 

 them of iudifferent value and not worth 

 propagation on an extensive scale. 

 There are many varieties of good size 

 and flavour, fruiting in Mexico and other 

 parts of the tropics which will doubtless 

 succeed here as well as the smaller and 

 inferior ones. Some of these Mexican 

 varieties are of such superior quality as 

 to leave nothing to be desired. 



It is therefore manifestly the part of 

 wisdom for California planters of this 

 fruit to proceed with intelligence and 

 accept nothing but the best. Attracted 

 by the prospective large returns some 

 investments of a doubtful character are 

 already being made. There is really no 

 excuse for this. 



Investigation and care will lead any 

 one in the right path. There will be no 

 demnnd for seedling or inferior fruits 

 once a superior avocado is to be found 

 plentifully in our markets. Nor need 

 tnere be delay or groping in the dark 

 40 



for these superior varieties. At our 

 very door lies a boundless experimental 

 garden in which for centuries the 

 avocado has been grown, where countless 

 varieties have originated, and where 

 now are growing hundreds of thousands 

 of trees from among which we have 

 only to select the best. 



By taking advantage of this oppor- 

 tunity California can obtain in a com- 

 paratively short time the choicest 

 varieties, which it would take years of 

 time and a large expenditure of money 

 to produce by the ordinary methods of 

 plant breeding carried on here. 



The results presented in this pre- 

 liminary paper on this subject have 

 been worked up in the Biological 

 Laboratory of Pomona College, and 

 acknowledgments are here made for 

 the facilities placed at my disposal 

 there and the constant and kindly assist- 

 ance extended to me. 



Types Grown in California. 



Broadly speaking, the avocados which 

 have fruited here so tar may be divided 

 into two classes : those nf Mexican 

 origin, which include all the smooth 

 and thin skinned varieties, and those of 

 Guatemalan origin, which are easily 

 distinguished by their very thick skins 

 and rough exterior. This is not saying, 

 of course, that all avocados can bo 

 divided into these two classes. 



Of the Mexican type many trees may 

 be found scattered all over the southern 

 end of the State, most of which have 

 been grown from seed obtained from 

 Monterey and other points in northern 

 Mexico. The famous Chappelow tree is 

 the oldest and best known of the lot. 



Most of the Mexican varieties produce 

 fruits of small size, dark purple in colour, 

 but of good quality, and are preferred 

 by many to the large green fruits, it 

 being the belief that they are richer and 

 of better flavour than the larger 

 varieties. 



They are also somewhat hardier than 

 the larger varieties, and probably will 

 be valuable in locations where the latter 

 would not thrive. 



For home use these varieties will 

 always be desirable, but as a commercial 

 fruit they are out of the question alto- 

 gether. They are too thin skinned to 

 stand shipment, and would probably not 

 take at all in American markets in com- 

 petition with the larger thick skinned 

 fruits. 



A few varieties of Mexican origin and 

 green in colour are now grown here 

 which are larger than the purple varie- 

 ties, but these also are thin skinned and 



