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Commercial fruit culture has not progressed, in most
tropical American republics, as rapidly as has the production of
such staple crops as cane sugar and coffee. There are many reasons
for this, some of them being a stronger demand in world markets,
and the perishable nature of most fruits.

Of course there are exceptions, perhaps the most notable of
which are the banana and the pineapple. It is worthy of note that
in both cases, commercial varieties are easily propagated by
vegetative means. This led to the development of superior
varieties, almost in prehistoric times, and it facilitated the
rapid expansion of commercial cultivation without the intervention
of elaborate horticultural techniques.

The present century has witnessed, and is witnessing, the
development of other tropical fruit industries. The production
of citrus fruits has become important in many regions. And
latterly, the avocado or aguacate has come in for its due share
of attention, though it is to be noted that much of the work done
with this crop to date has not been in the tropics themselves,
where the tree is indigenous, but in the subtropical regions of
California and Florida, where horticulturists were prepared by
long experience in other fields, to attack the complex problems
of production which the avocado has presented.

In an era in which the production of foodstuffs is an all-
important issue, further attention to the possibilities of avocado
growing takes on added interest. For here is a fruit which not
only can be grown over an immense range of territory, but which
at the same time offers, in highly attractive form, and with