UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 1073 M 
Contribution from the Bureau of Chemistry 
W. G. CAMPBELL, Acting Chief 
A\fr a< &J-U 
Washington, D. C. 
May 12, 1922 
SOME CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF CALI- 
FORNIA AVOCADOS DURING GROWTH. 
By C. G. Church, Assistant Chemist, and E. M. Chace, Chemist in charge, Laboratory 
of Fruit and Vegetable Chemistry. 1 
CONTENTS. 
Page. ! Page. 
The California avocado industry 1 j Discussion of results: 
Purpose of investigation 2 | Composition of standard varieties tested ... 15 
Investigational work: Correlation between maturity and compo- 
Methods of sampling 3 j sition 16 
Methods of analysis 4 j Conclusions 22 
Results of investigation 4 | 
THE CALIFORNIA AVOCADO INDUSTRY. 
Avocado growing is still one of the infant industries of California. 
Although many single trees or small groups of trees have been in 
existence for some time, real attempts at commercial production 
extend back for little more than 10 years. About 45,000 trees are 
now registered, but the greater part of these are not in bearing and 
many more are dooryard trees not intended for commercial purposes. 
Large commercial plantings are rare and the industry will not reach 
its maximum for years to come. All of the different varieties now 
being planted are more or less in the experimental stage, for no large 
planting is old enough yet to tell what the trees Will do at an advanced 
age under orchard conditions. 
It would be difficult to list all the varieties of the avocado in 
California, for new types of trees are being continually raised from 
seed and the first fruits of several such trees are exhibited at prac- 
tically all of the meetings of the California Avocado Association. 
The fruit of most of these trees, however, is too poor to be of use, so 
1 The writers are indebted to the California Avocado Association, a cooperative body of avocado growers, 
and to many individual growers for information and material of great assistance m this investigation. 
94446— 22— Bull. 1073 1 
