Ii8 NEW SOUTH WALES. 



thorougli cultivation and tlie retaining in the soil for tlie trees^ use of 

 as mucli of tlie rainfall as possible. On tliis retaining of moisture in 

 the soil the whole success of fruit-culture in this district depends, 

 and the retention of moisture is accomplished by a thorough system 

 of cultivation. For example, after every rain the surface of the 

 ground is broken as soon as the land will carry horses without injury; 

 this prevents the formation of a crust on the surface, as well as of the 

 capillaries right to the surface, and it is by means of the capillaries, 

 or rather through them, that heavy surface evaporation takes place, 

 and consequently dries out the soil. The breaking of the crust after 

 rain is followed by deeper cultivation, the implements used stirring 

 but not turning the soil, and if this is continued throughout the dry 

 time the land will retain all the moisture required for the proper 

 development of the trees and fruit. In order to show the result of 

 thorough cultivation in this district, the following illustration will 

 give some idea of the growth of Muir peaches at the Government 

 Experimental Farm at Wagga Wagga, sixteen months after planting, 

 which have been grown in the average soil of the district entirely 

 without irrigation, but under a system of culture such as I have just 

 described. During the past winter the trees were pruned back to 

 within 8 inches of the main trunk, and all the growth shown in the 

 illustration has been made in sixteen weeks, and during an unusually 

 dry season. The trees are planted 25 feet apart each way. 



The cultivation of the olive both for oil and for pickling is destined 

 to be a great industry in this district. The tree is a rapid and vigor- 

 ous grower, cropping heavily and bearing good fruit, and, in addition, 

 coming into bearing in much less time than it does in Europe ; in fact, 

 the conditions prevailing in this district are, as a whole, much more 

 favourable to the growth of the olive than the most favoured districts 

 of Spain, Italy, or Southern France. In addition to the fruits men- 



