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Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



several years and now has a plantation of 120 seedlings just coming into bearing. 

 Among those which are fruiting this year Mr. Thacher has one tree that at the 

 time this is written^ and before the fruits have matured, bears promise of being 

 especially worthy of propagation. 



Because of the impossibility of obtaining budded trees in sufficient quantity 

 for orchard plantings, almost no plantations of budded trees have been made in 

 Southern California up to the present time. Several parties, however, have made 

 plantations of seedlings with the intention of budding the young trees to some 

 desirable variety, and in this way saving considerable time. Probably the largest 

 of these plantations is that of Mr. W. G. Davison, at La Habra. Mr. Davison 

 has twenty acres set to Mexican seedlings and is now budding them to choice 

 Mexican varieties. 



Mr. William A. Spinks of Monrovia has a plantation of about 600 budded 

 trees of various varieties, which is more in the way of an experimental planting, 

 perhaps, than a commercial orchard. A few other plantings of seedlings have 

 been made, with the intention of budding the trees as soon as it is possible to ob- 

 tain budwood of choice varieties, but the majority of parties interested in the com- 

 mercial production of avocados are waiting until they can obtain budded trees 

 with which to make their plantings. Another year will see the work of planting 

 orchards well under way, as the growing of budded stock is being given adequate 

 attention. Among those engaged in this branch of the industry, the West India 

 Gardens, a tropical nurserj^ company at Altadena, has many thousand young Mex- 

 ican seedlings in the field which are being worked to the choicest Mexican vari- 

 eties. This company sent its own representative to Mexico to locate the trees 

 bearing the most desirable fruits. The trees selected were marked, and budwood 

 from them is now being sent up. As in the selection of this stock all points of 

 desirability were considered, a choice lot of budded trees will be the result — a re- 

 sult which by the process of growing seedlings at home and selecting therefrom, 

 it would have taken many years to bring about. 



Co-Operation of the Department of Agriculture 



Realizing the possibilities of the avocado as a commercial proposition in 

 Southern California, the United States Department of Agriculture has become 

 interested in the development of the industry, and has recently sent out a large 

 shipment of budded trees for trial. This shipment consisted of four sets of about 

 eighty trees each, all budded, which were propagated at the Subtropical Labora- 

 tory of the Department at Miami, Florida. These four sets have been planted 

 by co-operators in San Bernardino, Pasadena, Whittier and Altadena, so as to test 

 them out under different climatic conditions. The set includes all of the standard 

 Florida varieties, Trapp, Pollock, Mitchell, Baldwin, Family, Wester, Blackman 

 and Peacock; one variety from the Bahamas called Largo, and unnamed varieties 

 from Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, California, Canary Islands, Florida and Hawaii. 

 It is expected that when these trees come into bearing several choice varieties will 

 be obtained, and it will also give an opportunity to thoroughly test out the Florida 

 varieties under the different climatic conditions obtaining in Southern California. 



