FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
187 
not know what are the best fertilizers for 
avocado yet, and there are many other 
things we do not know about the ques¬ 
tion. Last year the failure of the bloom 
to set was due to two agents: First, the 
withertip fungus which has been quite 
common from year to year for a long 
time in the avocado orchards. Then in 
addition to that we had a severe infes¬ 
tation of the thrips, but in those cases 
where both the thrips and the withertip 
fungus were controlled, a fair setting of 
fruit was obtained. 
However, there are a lot of avocado 
trees which normally should be bearing, 
which will not set. In 1903 or 1904, 
I checked over the bearing trees along the 
East Coast. I visited about 90 per cent, 
of the bearing trees, and found that of all 
the seedlings, we should not expect more 
than about 3 per cent, to be really pro¬ 
lific, bearing trees. That brings to us 
clearly, the necessity of using only bud¬ 
ded or grafted trees. We still have or¬ 
chards of budded trees where we are los¬ 
ing crops, but the failure of the crops 
is usually due to the withertip that causes 
blight. On top of this, we have the 
thrips, the same species that causes the 
trouble in the citrus blooms. But, all 
things considered, I was surprised a* 
what came out of Florida in the line of 
fruit, in spite of the total ignorance on 
the part of those most concerned, as to 
the proper methods of handling them. 
I believe that covers the point as far 
as we know about it. 
What I have explained about thrips 
and bloom blight, on the avocado, is prac¬ 
tically applicable to the mango. I find 
this year that where people have sprayed 
pretty thoroughly with the Bordeaux 
Mixture they have got a pretty good set¬ 
ting; that is, from the December bloom, 
and where no spraying was done, the 
bloom was lost. Simply spraying with 
Bordeaux Mixture will often help you 
to have a large crop, especially if it is 
due to the withertip fungus. If due to the 
thrips, then you must use the solution for 
thrips; that is, the tobacco and sulphur 
mixture. J 
Mr. Goodwin: I would like to call at¬ 
tention to a tree which was planted in 
1890. The tree is exceedingly large, and 
never set any fruit I know of, except one 
year. That year there were a number of 
pineapple plants growing under the tree, 
and we grubbed them out and worked 
them into the soil, and that season it set 
a heavy crop of fruit on the west side 
of the tree^ where there was very little 
sun, but on the east side, very few. This 
year it has set a few. 
Professor Rolfs: I would not advo¬ 
cate that as a general practice, to bring 
it into bearing. 
Mr. Robinson: I saw Mr. Reasoner 
putting wire bands around avocadoes and 
mangoes that had failed to bloom, for a 
few weeks, letting them cut into the bark, 
with the same idea, I suppose, of 
checking growth. 
A Member: In other words, it makes 
a tree sick, and it bears fruit in self-de¬ 
fence. 1 
Mr. Hume: I don’t know that we can 
say it makes the tree sick. But it inter¬ 
feres with the normal growth. 
Professor Rolfs: I do not think we 
can advocate that. In the early ’90’s we 
had a great many navel orange trees in 
