8 The Custard Apple in Queensland. 



The Mammoth comes from a seedling tree growing at Bowen Hills r 

 Brisbane. It is a very vigorous grower, and, as a rule, does not commence 

 to fruit until it has made a large tree, and is six or seven years old. 

 Unlike the Island variety, it is not a regular cropper, the fruit is large r 

 and some very large fruits weigh as much as 5 or 6 Ib. It is very uneven- 

 in shape and appearance, but is of excellent quality and very free from 

 seeds. To secure the best results from this variety, judicious pruning- 

 is needed, and it should not be forced into early growth during the 

 spring the later the trees are in starting their new growth, the more 

 likely are they to have a good crop of fruit during the summer. 



Much has been done by the writer in selecting likely looking- 

 seedlings, to produce something better than what is now grown (for the 

 perfect Custard Apple is not yet), but he has not met with success yet. 

 Perhaps no other fruit trees grown from seed produce so many worthless 

 trees as does the Custard Apple ; hence, a word of caution to intending- 

 planters don 't plant seedlings. 



III. Anonas as relating to Queensland. 



BY WILLIAM SOUTTER. 



Away back in 1874 appears the first public allusion to these plants. 

 Mr. Walter Hill, the then Director of the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane, 

 issued the first catalogue of plants growing in the Brisbane Botanic 

 Gardens, prior and up to 1874. At page 90, a list of the Anonas is given, 

 as follows: A. cherimolia (Cherimoya), A. muricata (Sour Sop), A^ 

 palustris (alligator apple), A. reticulata (netted Custard Apple), A. 

 squamosa (Sweet Sop). It is reasonable to assume that all the Anonas. 

 then growing were seedlings raised from imported seed of the species- 

 mentioned. Some time away in the sixties the late Mr. L. A. Bernays, 

 C.M.G., evidently imported seed of anonas; as a very old tree of A^ 

 reticulata was growing in what was known as the Economic Ground at 

 Bowen Park in 1885. The late Alexander McPherson was the first 

 overseer of the Acclimatisation Society, under the supervision of Mr. 

 Bernays. Mr. McPherson told me that this plant was a seedling raised 

 by Mr. Bernays. Mr. McPherson prepared the place for the young tree, 

 and planted it along with several other seedlings of various trees that 

 were planted at the same time, one being The Rose Apple (Eugenia 

 jambos), and another The Brazilian Cherry (Eugenia uniflora). The 

 Anona and Eugenias were destroyed when the land on which they were 

 growing was resumed by the National Association for show purposes. 

 From 1874 till 1884-5, nothing is heard of the Anonas that calls for 

 notice, but about this latter date Mr. Wm. Pagan, then Engineer for 

 Railways, who had recently arrived in Queensland from South America, 

 in conversation with Mr. James Pink, who about that time was overseer 

 of the Acclimatisation Gardens, told Mr. Pink that a Custard Apple grew 

 in South America that bore fruit as large as a child's head, and of 

 excellent flavour. Mr. Pink immediately wrote to Mr. Jenman. then 



