1977 
Kansu and its yield has been much greater, I was told, than the native 
varieties. The head is somewhat triangular, being broad at the base. 
This variety is now growing in a very limited area at an altitude of 
about 7,000 feet, and is sown either in the spring or fall," 
An Avocado from the Republic of Colombia. 
The region about Santa Marta, Colombia, produces many fine avo- 
cados (Persea americana) of the West Indian race. The trees are not 
cultivated as in Florida, but occur here and there in banana planta- 
tions and dooryards. Because of the extremely hot climate, the fruits 
ripen some weeks earlier than they do in the West Indies. This has 
resulted in shipments from Santa Marta beiag the first to reach Ameri- 
can markets at the beginning of the avocado season. Sometimes they 
have arrived in New York during the month of May, though it is doubt- 
ful if avocados picked at that time are fully mature. 
While past experience shows that it is impossible to forecast the 
behavior of an avocado, when it is taken from one region to another, 
the possibility of securing early-ripening varieties of the West Indian 
race from Santa Marta has long been under consideration. No one has 
been able to say definitely that the earliness of most varieties in 
that region is due solely to climate, though personally I feel this to 
be the major factor, and perhaps the only one of importance. 
While studying the avocados of that region in August, 1920, I came 
across a tree which was said to be unusually valuable. It was growing 
in the dooryard of the superintendent's house at Esperanza Farm of the 
United Fruit Co., near Rio Frio. My notes made at the time are repro- 
duced below: 
"This tree flowers in December. Fruit begins to ripen in April, t 
being the first to mature of the varieties hereabout. The main crop 
is in April, May, and June, but a few fruits may remain on the tree un- 
til August. Sometimes the tree flowers a second time, and ripens 20 to 
30 fruits in December. It is a good bearer, yielding at least 500 avo- 
cados annually. 
"The fruit is oblong-oval in form, and weighs about a pound and a 
half. The surface is light yellow green, marked with numerous small 
yellowish dots. The skin is firm and moderately thick, and the flesh 
buttery, fine-grained, deep yellow (tinged with green near the skin), 
without any trace of fiber or discoloration, and of rich, very pleasant 
flavor. The proportion of flesh to seed is much larger than is common, 
the flesh being about an inch thick on the sides of the fruit. The 
seed is small, and quite loose in the seed cavity, which also is small." 
The variety, when introduced into the United States, was given 
the name Fernandez, in honor of Joaquin B. Fernandez, at that time manager 
of the Santa Marta Division of the United Fruit Company. Young trees pro- 
pagated at Washington have been sent to Florida, where they are making 
