Avocados on High Pine Land 
John Morley, Lake Alfred 
My remarks are described as “Avo¬ 
cados on High Pine Lands/' but before 
going into this, I must say, that I am ex¬ 
periencing this evening a somewhat novel 
sensation, for although I have been great¬ 
ly attracted to the avocado for the past 
five years, my stimulus has been greatly 
increased after hearing such a good re¬ 
port from Mr. Stevens, and so much so, 
that I shall be inclined to plant more and 
more. 
The avocado, so far as I can gather, 
was first introduced from the West Indies 
in the year 1739. and from this we may 
note, it has been on record a long time. 
In my opinion the fruit, from a nutritious 
standpoint is unrivaled and may be gath¬ 
ered when ripe without any treatment or 
curing; further, the most delicate stomach 
can digest the avocado fruit, when ani¬ 
mal fats may upset it. I would further 
say, that I long for the day when we can 
have this fruit in plenty. For although 
I am not a vegetarian, I am thinking that 
as I love the taste so much, when the day 
does come that we can have them in 
abundance, I shall not need much of the 
bovine, that tells no lies, wanders on the 
prairie and on mischief bent, lustily tears 
and eats up our vegetation in yards, gar¬ 
dens and groves. 
The avocado tree in my opinion would 
make a good shade tree on our way-sides 
and should be used more than it has been 
in the past, for it has a singular striking 
appearance, combined with good spread¬ 
ing branches. Probably it may not be 
generally known, that it is said, that 
marks made with the seed on a white wall 
will turn as red as blood and cannot be 
effaced until the wall is whitewashed and 
even then only with difficulty. 
I am not in a position to say that you 
should follow a definite plan in your 
planting on the so-called “high pine 
lands," for although I have spent my 
whole life in studying and working 
amongst trees and plants, my experience 
on the subject before us only covers five 
years. However, in all our works we 
must form a base or construction line to 
work from, particularly so, when you are 
not growing your trees on a well enriched 
humus area, for you must realize that the 
sudden fluctuations of heat and moisture 
quickly affect the avocado, more particu¬ 
larly during its early life. 
Just as individual tastes differ on vari¬ 
ous matters, so does the result change ac¬ 
cording to the treatment you give your 
trees in the first place. It is well known 
that good food is requisite for this tree, or 
42 
