512 Aoriculfiiral Gazette of N.S.W. [June 2, ]9()S. 



tap root. All small roots may l)e I'emoved, leaving only tin- lai-_;('r ones, as 

 on (ligginij; up a tree which luts been planted for some time, it "ill 1)(! found, 

 exci'])t in ve'V rare cases, thnt the very small roots never thr )\v out any 

 vounii; rootlets, but wither away and die, becoming a hidin_'-y)lace, perliaps, for 

 white ants, which ofti'ii, in time, through such medium, take possession of 

 the tree and cjiuse its uhimate death. 'I'he roots should he cut with a sliai'p 

 knife, and in such manner that when the tiee is jilanted the cut w 11 face 

 downwards. By cutting this way, new lo 'ts which will form, or, rather, grow 

 from the cut, will have a tend^-ney to gi-ow in^t he riglil direction, downward. 



The next, step to consider is as to how the top of the tree shall be dealt 

 with. 'I'his, of course, will depend largely on the age t)f the ti'ee in ([ue-tion. 

 if a two or three year-old innsery tree, it may bi' ;id\isal)le to leave eit ler 

 three or four short auiM, as it is found that if the head is cut awav and only 

 a straight trunk left, tie- top of the tree may not shoot, but will die, and the 

 tree shoot fr. ni th(^ mot. This is often tbe cas^^ wit'i the j)each, but, where a 

 few shoots ate left this danger is avoided. If a well-grown veailing tree, I 

 would ])refer cutting it back to a single stem. It must be bori.e in mind 

 always that in moving a tree it loses the greater jiortion of its roo's, and 

 that, in consequeiK'e, ihe remaining roots are una''le to sutti.iently su])port or 

 nourish the growh above ground, for wh ch the whole root system was 

 intended. We nuist, there'ore, shotten the top in such a way as to re-estah- 

 lish the lost equilibrium, aiul the planter must, bear m mind that it is always 

 better to cut a newly planted tree back rather severely than to leave it with 

 too much top, as by so doing it will rea)ver more quickly, and in the end, 

 make a much better ttee. 



Fruit-fly. — Tn one or two districts there are still evidences of this p-'st, but 

 owing to tlie rigid inspection and the compulsory destruction of all iallen and 

 infesteil fi'uits, the damage caused by this enemy is greatly reduceil. In fact, 

 in mv opinion, the frui'-grower has a much more hardy enemy to fitfht in the 

 •codling moth than in the fruit-fly. In one of our orchards this yeai', whei'e 

 we have dine everything that is possible to keep the moth in check, we liave 

 had to boil a thousand case.s of fruit, wdiich, had they been sound, would 

 have easily sold at 7s. 6d. per case. Where is there an orchard of 25 acres, 

 in even the wox"st district, that has lost anything likn a quarter of that 

 through the ravages of fiuit-tiy ? 



Verjetatioii Diseases Act. — Such an Act e.Kists in neai-ly all the States of the 

 Connn')nwealth, but there is no other State which is striving to live up to 

 the conditions of the Act to the same extent as we aie doing in New South 

 AVales. We have at least five qualitied inspectors ( wdio are also practical fruit- 

 growers) to every one in almost any other State. These ate apjjointed to 

 .see that fruit-growers are following out the conditions of the Act, and, in the 

 <-()urse of their visits, are able to disseminate much useful information among 

 the growers, who are doing their be>t to keep oi'chard pi'sts in check, and 

 while this nor any other State ca"not totally eradicate these disea.ses, we 

 liope to reach to as near a state of freedom from pests as ifc is possible to 

 attain. 



