55 



cation directly to the roots of rank manures, bad cultivation, and 

 a disease that I call "Greedy Choke Puppy" i,e., planting catch 

 crops right up to the trees, allowing pumpkin and bean vines to 

 grow all over them. 



I will first deal with a disease known as " Foot Rot." It is first 

 observed by a yellowish gum exuding from the roots or the trunk 

 adjacent to them and when the bark is pealed off the wood imme- 

 diately under it will be found to be of a brownish colour in the 

 first stages, and later quite dead. This disease, if handled at 

 once can easily be cured ; first remove the soil from around the 

 root for about l8 inches, cutting away all diseased bark and wood 

 and applying white-wash, with a little coal tar added, to the cut 

 surfaces and allowing the hole to remain open until filled up by 

 the natural washing of the rains. 



" Die Back" as its name denotes, is a dying back of new growths 

 and smaller branches. This is due to the application of highly ni- 

 trogeneous manures and also wet soil ; if these causes are removed 

 and some dry wood ashes applied to the root system the trees will 

 soon recover. 



"Scale Insects" are more prevalent in densely shaded groves 

 and poorly fed trees. They exist under the most favourable con- 

 ditions and if not checked will eventually kill the tree. For these 

 pests soft soap emulsion is a good remedy, but it has to be re- 

 peated until you have eradicated the pests, and ever after keep a 

 watchful eye for the return, dosing them as soon as they make an 

 appearance. 



What I have told you will be quite enough to give a fair start 

 and if you follow out my instructions as regards planting and 

 growing the catch crops I have mentioned, you will find at the 

 end of about four years you will have a nice grove that will be 

 capable of helping out your income and which has cost you almost 

 nothing as far as ready money is concerned 



I hope I have not wearied you with this long string" of details, 

 but they are all quite necessary to entail success and must be 

 carefully followed. 



Now there is the other part of my discourse which I will treat 

 as briefly as possible, and that is the marketing of citrus fruits. 

 The present system I think is an impossible one, and is bound to 

 bring ruin sooner or later to all concerned in it. I am sorry to 

 have to say it, but our ordinary labourer is far too careless an in- 

 dividual to be trusted to pick and handle oranges and grape fruit 

 all over a property as is now done. To get good work you must 

 personally supervise the picking, and this is not possible where you 

 have to employ dozens of hands scattered over a large area. In 

 a grove it is different as the trees are blocked together and you 

 can take row by row ; then the trees being of lower growth, most 

 of the fruits can be picked directly from the ground or from short 

 ladders, put in small canvas bags hung from the shoulder and these 



