623 
PERSEA AMERICANA. (Lauraceae.) 34698. Seeds of avocado 
from Rome, Italy. Presented by Dr. Gustav Eisen. "The tree in 
question is in all probability about 100 years old and, though 
I do not know for certain, I think it likely to have been im- 
ported from Mexico by, or at least at the time of, Valadier, 
the French gardener and architect, who in the beginning of the 
nineteenth century arranged the Pincio garden. The tree is 
growing there in perfect vigor and health. Perhaps about 
forty feet high and the trunk several feet in diameter. The 
variety is one which I have never seen on the Pacific Coast of 
Mexico or Central America. The fruit being 3^ inches long by 
2| inches wide, pear-shaped, that is, tapering toward the 
stalk end. This year there were 100 fruits or over, all 
arriving at perfect maturity in October and November, the last 
ones being picked about November 15. The earlier fruits are 
larger and may average from ^ inch to 1 inch more than the 
size given above, which refers to the late fruits. In quality 
this fruit is equal to the very best that I have eaten in 
Guatemala and Mexico, and is of exquisite flavor. The seed is 
perfectly, round, pale yellow brown and evidently perfectly 
developed. The variety is also characterized by its pre- 
cocity, ripening before frost. It will succeed, without any 
doubt, in most parts of California, Arizona, southern Texas, 
the Gulf States generally, in a word in any territory extend- 
ing from the northern limit of the hardiest orange southward, 
that means San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, in California, 
the Coast Range, etc. Introduced to this territory the tree 
would prove of immense value and would enter at once into 
active competition with the Mexican and Island avocados now 
imported and sold at a prohibitive price." (Eisen.) As the 
temperatures in Rome average from 4=4.6° F. to 76.1°, with an 
absolute minumum of 17.2° F. , it will be seen that this tree 
has considerable promise. However its location may be a very 
sheltered one, and Dr. Eisen' s optimistic report may have to 
be modified considerably after tests in this country. For 
distribution later. 
PITTOSPORUM RALPH I I . (Pittosporaceae . ) 34722. Seeds 
from Wellington, New Zealand. Presented by Mr. G. J. Clap- 
ham, Public Works Department. "A beautiful, somewhat laxly 
branched shrub 15 to 20 feet in height, found in the central 
district of the North Island of New Zealand. Its dark-crimson 
fascicled little flower bells with their slightly emergent 
yellow anther tips, resting on the downy white young foliage, 
make it, when in bloom, one of the most attractive of the 
large New Zealand shrubs." (Blackwell and Laing, Plants of 
New Zealand.) For distribution later . 
