Although what the thieves are after has neither hoofs nor horns, to the victimized growers the crime is as dastardly as robbing a rancher of his cattle. Nestled among leathery leaves in unfenced orchards, avocados are an easy target for what Southern Californians call rustlers. And at current prices (about 50ยข apiece in most supermarkets, up to nearly $1 in some areas) the green fruit is an apparently irresistible one. Midway through this season's harvest, rustlers have already ripped off more than a million dollars' worth of Southern California's $38 million crop, and police estimate that one out of every...
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