Report of the Principal of the School of Horticulture. 263 



and " show" seasons scores come in a single day. The advantage of 

 the site as a training- and demonstration ground comes into prominence 

 at such seasons, since all roads leading to Melbourne, the largest 

 possible number have the opportunity of seeing on what lines we are 

 working. The number of visitors during the year may be set down 

 as slightly under one thousand. 



Demonstration Orchards in Country Districts. 



Six small demonstration orchards were formed and planted during 

 the winter of 1902, and each has since received such seasonable at- 

 tention as would secure the best type of growth under a given set of 

 conditions. 



The object is to provide a fair local example of how soil should be 

 cleaned, deepened, drained, enriched and thrown into surface form 

 appropriate to local resources and phenomena. The selection of 

 species and varieties of fruit trees, their shaping, mode of planting 

 and general care, has also been in accord with the demands of local 

 soil and climate. 



Victoria is so large as to provide several distinct climatic zones, 

 thus causing the most valuable commercial fruits to fall into groups, 

 each more or less suited to different regions. Hence, with but a 

 limited amount of capital, it was found necessary to establish but six 

 stations in widely dissimilar climates and soils. Horsham, Ruther- 

 glen, Castlemaine, Portland, Healesville, and Drouin, furnish most 

 marked contrasts, and at the same time represent a set of conditions 

 typical of considerable extents of country. 



The sites chosen embraced virgin soil and old orchard land, also 

 some extremely dirty, and other practically clean and prepared soil. 

 But in no instance was extra good land chosen — since these demons- 

 tration orchards are not intended as experiments but as actual 

 working examples, so far as uniform conditions and material obtain. 

 In one or two instances the land chosen was below the average of the 

 locality, since advantages of site and means for visiting and working 

 economically had to be taken into consideration. 



The work during the year has of necessity consisted of laying a 

 solid foundation for, and planting and caring for, the young trees. 

 Fallowing — so necessary to most newly cleared bush land — was not in 

 any case strictly necessary, since all the sites had been more or less 

 exposed for some years. The work, therefore, comprised clearing out 

 and burning all kinds of rubbish, several ploughings, and grading the 

 surface so as to equalise the depth and quality of the soil, and to 

 ensure surface drainage, sub-soiling wherever the loose weathered 

 soil was less than nine inches in depth, providing for surface or under 

 drainage, according to circumstances, liming all the land at the rate 

 of 30 cwt. per acre, getting together manure and well spent litter to 

 provide a free and mellow body of earth on the planting sites, and 

 afterwards throwing the surface into bold ridges previous to planting. 



