70 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
within the next few years, especially in 
those localities where it has been dem¬ 
onstrated that they can be grown. We 
can not hope to grow Avocados on a com¬ 
mercial scale and sell them for fifty cents 
to one dollar apiece, and any one going 
into the industry with this in view, is apt 
to be disappointed. I do not think I am 
wrong in the supposition, however, that 
Avocados can be grown and put on the 
leading markets at a price that would 
tempt the average consumer and at a 
price that would give a fair return to the 
producer. 
There are a number of things we must 
yet learn concerning the production of the 
Avocado and Mango before many per¬ 
sons will attempt plantings on a large 
scale. The soils and locations best suited 
for their culture; the best varieties to 
plant; methods of caring for the trees; 
kinds and amounts of fertilizers suitable 
for best results; disease and insect pest; 
available market and methods of market¬ 
ing the output; are some of the questions 
that come to those interested in develop¬ 
ing Avocado or Mango plantings for the 
future. We have a scattering knowledge 
in all of these subjects, but in some cases 
it does not extend beyond certain local 
limits. The beginner needs some more or 
less definite plan or set of instructions 
that he may follow with some degree of 
certainty. 
The lower east coast has been the first 
to recognize the commercial possibilities 
of the Avocado here in Florida. Dade 
County has the largest commercial plant¬ 
ings in the State and probably the oldest 
bearing trees. There are two men in this 
locality who have done pioneer work with 
the Avocado and Mango and they are 
largely responsible for what we know to¬ 
day in regard to the culture and varieties 
of these fruits best suited to Florida con¬ 
ditions. Mr. W. J. Krome and Mr. Geo. 
B. Cellon have contributed much to our 
knowledge of what can be done with 
these fruits in a practical way. It is here 
that the industry as such has started and 
other sections of the State naturally turn 
to Dade County for information. While 
this section is first in the production of 
Avocados and has demonstrated the feasi¬ 
bility of commercial plantings, there are 
other sections in South Florida where the 
Avocado and Mango can be grown 
equally as well. I believe there is just as 
great a future for these fruits along the 
lower west coast as there is here on the 
east coast. On the higher lands and the 
soils that can be well drained, I can see no 
reason why the Avocado and Mango can 
not be as generally grown in Lee County 
as they are in Dade. Lee County has a 
climate just as favorable, and a soil in 
many localities which I believe is better 
adapted to their growth, if the trees that 
I have seen thus far can be taken as a cri¬ 
terion. 
At present our commercial plantings 
are few and of small acreages. The door 
yard plantings are limited to a few seed¬ 
ling trees and but little thought has been 
given to the Avocado and Mango as a 
commercial proposition in the past. 
Now, however, the people are begin¬ 
ning to consider planting Avocados for. 
the future and they are seeking all the 
available information on this subject. 
