The Avocado From the Investor’s Standpoint 
L. F. Flipse 
The Avocado, peer of salad fruits, dur¬ 
ing its short history in this country has 
stirred the enthusiasm of its grower, has 
been favorably received in all the largest 
markets of this country, and has gained 
for itself an enviable position from the 
investor's standpoint. 
This fruit was first discovered by the 
earliest Spanish explorers in Central and 
South America, and it has since been dis¬ 
tributed around the tropical world. 
Never before its introduction to Southern 
California and Florida has it been grown 
under modern grove methods, and never 
before has it been marketed on a scale to 
have reached the proportions of an indus¬ 
try. 
It is not unusual in the development of 
new sections of our country to find new 
and favorable locations for the growing 
of fruits well known and established in 
our markets, but it is very rare, indeed, 
to find a new fruit with all the qualities 
to create an unlimited demand that has 
never before been exploited on a com¬ 
mercial scale. 
The topic assigned to me, “The Avo¬ 
cado from the Investor’s Standpoint,” in 
its discussion calls for a record of the 
past performance of the Avocado in 
South Florida, and of its fruits in the 
markets of our country. Will it pay the 
prospective grower to grow Avocados as 
we grow other fruits in this State? Will 
he be rewarded financially for capital in¬ 
vested and labor expended in growing 
this fruit? 
Fortunately, the Avocado has made 
some very conclusive performance rec¬ 
ords right here in South Florida upon 
which to base expectations as to the fu¬ 
ture success of Avocado growing. We 
have passed the experimental stage and 
have established some very vital and fun¬ 
damental facts upon which to base our 
predictions as to the financial success a 
grower of Avocados may expect. For¬ 
tunately also, the fruits shipped to our 
markets have not only made records but 
have broken all records for returns on 
fruit shipments. 
In all horticultural pursuits there are 
two main factors essential to the success 
of the undertaking, viz.: Production of 
the fruit under practical conditions; and 
market distribution of the product at a 
profit. 
It would be ruinous to attempt to grow 
any fruit on a commercial scale in a lo¬ 
cality where soil and climate or any other 
condition prevented the fullest develop¬ 
ment or interfered with the natural func¬ 
tioning of the tree; nor would it be prac¬ 
tical to grow any fruit commercially 
where cost of land or cost of bringing the 
grove into bearing and maintaining it in 
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