Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



147 



every winter. If these hardier varieties were all small or inferior, we would of 

 course prefer to take the chances with the more tender but superior ones, but 

 there are many fine Mexican and Central American varieties which possess the 

 requisite of hardiness in a very satisfactory degree. 



3. Yield 



Through propagation by budding a great difficulty experienced with the seed- 

 lings has been done away with, namely, the liability of the tree to bear sparsely 

 or not at all. The orchardist does not, of course, want to plant a tree on which he 

 cannot depend for a good crop. While the smaller types of avocados are almost 

 invariably prolific bearers, the larger varieties when grown from seed are inclined 

 to considerable variation in this respect. Through budding the prolific varieties 

 may be propagated and all danger from this source done away with. The avocado 

 is ordinarily a good bearer. It is not unusual for mature trees of the larger 

 varieties to produce a crop of five hundred to one thousand fruits each season, and 

 the small purple varieties are sometimes extraordinarily prolific, a single tree 

 bearing as high as four thousand fruits in one season, in some instances. To 

 make a variety profitable commercially it must, of course, be a fairly prolific bearer, 

 and it should be ascertained to a certainty that this is the case before planting 

 a tree. 



4. Size 



A mistaken idea which is held by many prospective avocado growers is that 

 the larger the fruit the better. The experience of the Florida growers has proven 

 conclusively that this is not the case when it comes to a question of marketing the 

 fruit. A two or three-pound avocado is certainly a regal fruit, but will not prove 

 half so profitable commercially as a smaller and consequently more prolific variety. 

 From fifteen to twenty ounces would seem to be the most desirable size. 



5. Form 



It has been found very desirable for shipping to have fruits of oval or round 

 form. The necked varieties necessitate considerable more care in packing, and 

 are much more liable to injury in transit. For local consumption, however, a pear 

 shaped or "bottle-necked"fruit is as good as any other form. 



6. Uniformity 



To facilitate packing, the product should be uniform in size as well as in 

 form, and this also improves the appearance of the fruit as it lies in market. 



7. Color 



The attractiveness of a fruit is affected considerably by its color. Locally 

 the purple varieties have sold somewhat more readily than the green ones, and in 

 Florida the dark crimson ones seem to be favored. But when the people are 

 thoroughly familiar with the avocado the color will probably make little difference, 

 unless some particular color or shade is found to denote a particularly good fruit. 



8. Skin 



A skin sufficiently thick and tough to stand shipment to great distances is a 

 prime essential. This is found in many of the Mexican varieties, and is partic- 



