The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Avocado: from pits to plants Spring Home Living Page 29 By Richard Cheverton Copley News Service Rule No. 1: Don't be intimidated. You can grow an absolutely wonderful little tree (even a big one, for all I know) from that football-shaped pit inside vour next avocado. Trust yourself. You do have a green thumb. Remember, it's ju§t a dumb plant. It wants to grow as much as you want it to. -FIRST. Never, ever refrigerate an avocado if you want to sprout the pit. Refrigerating the pit almost always kills it. -SECOND. Sometimes it's nice to take a whole avocado and let it get super ripe, way past the point of guacamole mushiness. This coddles and helps to nudge the seed toward life. But don't let the avocado get dry. If you're lucky, a nice little root will begin to shoot from the pit. In that case, be very careful when you clean the gunk off the pit. -THIRD. I favor the toothpick method of sprouting the pit. Just jab three toothpicks around the fat part of the pit, then suspend the pit-flat side down-by the toothpicks in a glass of water. The water should come up to the "shoulder" of the pit. Actually, depth isn't all that important-just don't drown the pit. -FOURTH. Wait. Be patient. Never give up unless the pit turns black and absolutely, positively looks d-e-a-d. -FIFTH. This is important, folks. When the first little shoot comes out of the top of the pit, pinch it off. You will feel Like you are committing in­ fanticide, and the pit will sulk for a while. But soon, another little sprout, will come up. Now here's the trick: You pinch that one off, too. In fact, you keeping pinching those shoots until the avocado gives up and, exasperated, sends up two shoots. This is the object of the game: Force the avocado to give you multiple stems. Remember, a single-stem avocado plant is OK~I've grown a ton of them- but nothing quite feels as nice as looking at your very own, multi- stemmed avocado. -SIXTH. You will find that the shoots, however many you are rewarded with, will grow at an astounding rate. The temptation is to sit back and watch the avocado reach the sky. This is another no-no. When the stem gets 6 or 7 inches high, cut it back to 3 or 4 inches. This will force the plant to fill out. -SEVENTH. Plant your plant. Any kind of pot will do, although plain, old- fashioned red-clay terra-cotta pots are really hard to beat. I always throw some potsherds in the bottom (it's great therapy to burst up an old pot, which is why most garderners stick with this arcane process), then throw in about a half-potful of standard potting soil, lightened perhaps with a dash of sand or fine gravel. Then I set the pit-by this time the roots have formed a nice kinky maze under it-into the soil and gently tamp it down. Then finish filling with dirt, top it with some gravel for appearance and-that's it. Enjoy. Keep pinching it back and you will have a tree that will become a very close friend in time. 1S85 TRAC LIGHTING SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY SALE AN New Products, All New Finishes.. .on Sale.. .ONE WEEK ONLY! We've just received our shipment of all new 1985 Juno Trac Lights and v we're celebrating with a Special )Introductory Sale. Save up to 40%. 'But hurry...sale ends April 31. tvHiMkr*bif it • HBU STYLES • NEW FVMSHES sjuno • REMODEL MEXFENSMELY WVTN TRAC UBHTMB INTRODUCTORY SALE BONUS1 Ybu Get Everything! Ttoo Juno Round Back Spotlights, 4-Foot Trac Section...Plus Cord and Plug Connector.. .COMPLETE ... No Extras to Buy! Choice of White or Bronze Hunyt QUMWM » Umtadl 7120 Virginia Rd. Crystal Lake -a- Regular Hours: Daily 8 to 5. Sat. 9 to3 815-459-6506 Hie cutting edge. Utilizing Honda's quiet 4-stroke OHV engine for maximum performance and minimal fuel use, this premium mower also features Roto-StopT; which stops the mower's blade when you release the handle, yet keeps the engine running. And the Automatic Decompression system means easy starting. Self-propelled units have a no- maintenance shaft drive system and large capacity grass bags. Honda mowers. The cutting edge. Pre-Season Savings On All Models! Good Times Cyclery rt. 14 w. of 31 crystal lake For optimum performance and safety we recommend you read the owner's manual before operating the unit. ©1985 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. HR214SXA Power Equipment Its a Honda