THE AVOCADO IN GUATEMALA. 39 
somewhat in form from those of the avocado, being as a rule broader 
and less pointed at the apex. 
The coyo flowers during the same season as the avocado, which 
in Alta Vera Paz is from February to April. As pointed out by 
Collins, however, it matures its fruit in less time than the Guate- 
malan avocado ; hence, coyos are all gone before avocados appear in 
the market. The flowers of the coyo are borne on shorter and 
stouter racemes than those of the avocado and are easily distin- 
guished from the latter by the blotch of deep orange or red at the 
base of each segment of the perianth; the perianth segments have 
the appearance of petals, but as the corolla is absent in this species 
they can not properly be called by this name. All parts of the in- 
florescence are covered with a heavy pubescence. 
When grown from seed, the coyo seems to come into bearing some- 
what later than the avocado. While it was impossible to obtain 
accurate information on this subject, it is the general opinion among 
Guatemalans that the trees commence to bear when 8 to 10 years 
old. As with the avocado, all coyo trees in Guatemala are seedlings ; 
consequently nothing is known concerning the behavior of budded 
or grafted trees. 
Unquestionably the trees live to great age. Old specimens, how- 
ever, do not seem to bear so well as younger ones, i. e., those between 
15 and 30 years of age. 
THE COYO CROP. 
It is noticeable that the coyo, as a general thing, does not produce 
such heavy crops as the avocado. For this reason coyos, even in a 
region like that of San Cristobal, where the trees are as plentiful 
as those of the avocado, are never so abundant in the market as 
avocados and consequently are never so cheap. It was noticed, how- 
ever, that an occasional tree produced very heavily. From this it can 
be assumed that it will be possible to obtain varieties of satisfactory 
productiveness for cultivation in the United States. 
In the Motagua Valley, at elevations of 500 to 1,500 feet, the coyo 
ripens from the latter part of June until August, the season thus cor- 
responding to that of the West Indian race of avocados. In Alta 
Vera Paz, at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 feet, the season is from July 
to October, with a few fruits available until the first of December. 
As in the avocado, there is a certain amount of variation in the 
season of ripening among different trees. 
When mature, the fruits are picked and placed in the house to 
ripen. The ripening process requires less time than it does with avo- 
cados, three or four days usually sufficing. When the fruits yield to 
pressure of the thumb they are ready for eating and are carried to 
the market for sale. In San Cristobal they bring 1 to 2 reals each 
(one-fifth to two-fifths of a cent), while avocados rarely sell in the 
same town for more than a real and often two for a real. 
