^J^o^UcLcl 
CITRUS AND TROPICAL FRUIT, Continued 
grafting, or^ budding, and sold in the standard 
avocado box, from which the planter can readily 
transfer the tree into its permanent place by 
knocking off the bottom and, after placing the 
box at the proper depth, filling in with soil, set¬ 
tling down with water, splitting the sides and re¬ 
moving, before the final firming down. Avocados 
must be irrigated in dry weather regularly. 
Tropical South American (“West Indian") Type 
This is the most tender of the three groups of 
avocados, showing pronounced injury at 28 de^ees 
Fahr. They may, however, be grown safely in a 
considerable area of the state where natural pro¬ 
tection is best, as on the East Coast below Ft. 
Pierce, the West Coast at protected places south 
of the Caloosahatchee River, and at other specially 
protected places, throughout extreme South Flor¬ 
ida. The special characteristics of this class, aside 
from susceptibility to frost, are a thick leathery 
skin that separates readily from the fiesh; the fiesh 
is not as high in fat content as the Guatemalan, 
and the seeds are large and often loose in the 
cavities. The following are the best of this group: 
Barker. A splendid new variety, originating at Bra¬ 
denton, closely resembling Pollock as to general 
appearance, size and quality, but a heavy and 
constant bearer, and probably more hardy. Sea¬ 
son, October into December. Weight of fruit 
from 1 to 3 pounds; green-skinned. 
Family. This is the earliest to ripen of this group 
we are listing—from early July to last of Sep¬ 
tember. The flesh is greenish cream colored, of 
mild, pleasant flavor, but not very rich. In form 
it is slender pear-shaped; in color, maroon-red; 
seed, large and tight in cavity. Tree productive. 
Trapp. This is the variety most commonly planted 
in extreme South Florida. The fruit is medium in 
size, 1 to 1^/4 pounds in weight, smooth, green 
skin, seed somewhat loose in cavity. Flesh green¬ 
ish yellow, free from fiber, and of rich, pleasant 
flavor. The fruits commence ripening in October 
and hang on to the first of the year. 
The Hardier Avocados—Guatemalan Type 
This is intermediate between the South American 
and hardiest Mexican types, and from the commer¬ 
cial viewpoint bids fair to succeed the tropical va¬ 
rieties in point of favor with the planter, both be¬ 
cause of the larger area in which it can be planted, 
the character of the skin which makes it an un¬ 
usually good shipper, and the lateness of the ripen¬ 
ing season. This latter point is not yet fully estab¬ 
lished in respect to all varieties, but the seasons we 
indicate are probably fairly close approximations. 
In hardiness this group is probably about like the 
lemon, possibly much more hardy. However, be¬ 
cause of the fact that this type, contrary to the 
others, blooms in late spring and carries its fruit 
over the following winter, ripening the next spring 
or summer, special attention should be accorded the 
consideration of protection, either naturally by loca¬ 
tion, or artificially. The skin is characteristic, very 
thick, even to the point of being woody and brittle, 
and usually more or less rough. The flesh is consid¬ 
ered better on the average than the South Ameri¬ 
can type, being somewhat richer and more oily (fat 
content, 15 to 25 per cent), though not as much 
so as the Mexican. The seed is not large in pro¬ 
portion to the size of the fruit and is seldom loose 
in the cavity. It is an excellent shipper, and for 
this and other reasons may supplant the more ten¬ 
der varieties on the markets. Following are the va¬ 
rieties we are handling which from present knowl¬ 
edge we consider best adapted to Florida planting: 
Eaglerock. A green avocado nearly round in shape 
and weighing about 1to 2 pounds. Season 
March and April. Quality of the best. 
Linda. Very promising spring-ripening fruit weigh¬ 
ing up to 2 pounds. 
Nimlioh. Introduced from Guatemala by the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, fruited out in Florida 
and found very desirable. Season of ripening, 
February and March; green-skinned; weight XVvs, 
to 2 pounds; shape oblong or oval. 
Taft. One of the most hardy in this type, having 
pyriform fruit of 1 to pounds; color deep 
green. Season January and February. 
The two following varieties are more hardy than 
pure-bread Guatemalans and should be planted in 
areas too cool for the preceding kinds. 
Fuerte. This variety originated in Mexico, and is 
now considered a hybrid of the Guatemalan and 
Mexican types, is of unusual hardiness for the 
former type and at present a general favorite 
for orchard planting in California, the fruit 
ripening here from late November to March. 
The fruits are oval in shape, weigh about a pound 
each, with green skin, rough in surface, and 
thick in texture. The flesh is yellow, smooth and 
buttery, rich in flavor (analyses showing 25 per 
cent fat) with a small tight seed. 
Lula. A late ripening sort—December to March— 
in form pear-shaped and color green. It weighs 
1 to Wz pounds packing 28 to 46 to the crate. 
A Guatemalan-Mexican hybrid, it has about the 
same degree of cold-resistance as Fuerte, possi¬ 
bly more. 
Mexican Type 
Because of its extreme hardiness this type should 
receive special consideration from every home-own- 
Guatemalan type avocados 
69 
