18 FRUITS OF QUEENSLAND. 



CLIMATE. 



As previously stated, the successful culture of fruit depends mainly on the 

 right kinds of fruit being grown in the right soil and climate. This naturally 

 brings us to the question of climate, and here one again gets an idea of the 

 extent of our country, as we have not one but many climates. Climate is a 

 matter of such vital importance to fruit-growers, and there is such a general 

 lack of knowledge respecting the climate of Queensland, that a little informa- 

 tion on this point is desirable. I am afraid that there is* a very general 

 impression that Queensland has a climate that is only suitable for a coloured 

 race ; that it is either in the condition of a burnt-up desert or is being flooded 

 out. That it is a country of droughts and floods, a country of extremes in 

 fact, a very desirable place to live out of. No more erroneous idea was ever 

 given credence to, and, as an Englishman born, who has had many years' prac- 

 tical experience on the land in England, Scotland, the United States of America, 

 and the various Australian States, I have no hesitation in saying that, as far 

 as my experience goes and it is an experience gained by visiting nearly every 

 part of the State that is suited for agricultural pursuits taken as a 

 whole, it is difficult to find a better or healthier climate in any other country 

 of equal area. Our climate has its disadvantages, no doubt, particularly our 

 dry spells, but show me the country that has a perfect climate. We have 

 disadvantages, but, at the same time, we have great advantages; advantages 

 that, in my opinion, outweigh our disadvantages. 



Our eastern seaboard, extending from the New South Wales border in the 

 south, a few miles to the south of the 28th degree of south latitude, to Cape 

 York, some 20 miles north of the llth degree of south latitude, contains our 

 best districts for the growth of tropical and semi-tropical fruits. The coastal 

 climate, however, varies considerably, and is governed by the proximity or 

 otherwise of the coast ranges. When they approach the coast there is always 

 more rainfall, and as they recede the rainfall decreases. With one or two 

 exceptions, where the coastal range is a considerable distance inland, the 

 eastern coastal districts have a sufficient rainfall for the successful culture of 

 most fruits, though they are subject to a dry spell during winter and spring. 

 During this period of the year, the weather is extremely enjoyable ; in fact, it 

 is hard to better it, even in our extreme North. But as summer approaches, 

 thunderstorms become prevalent, and are accompanied by more or less humid 

 conditions, which, though good for fruit-development, are not quite so enjoyable 

 as the drier months. Summer is our rainy season, and the rainfalls are 

 occasionally very heavy. The weather is warm and oppressive, particularly 

 in the more tropical districts; but these very conditions are those that are 

 best suited to the production of tropical fruits. The climate of those districts 

 having the heaviest summer rainfall is somewhat trying to Europeans, par- 

 ticularly women, but it is by no means unhealthy, and in the hottest parts, 

 having the coast range nearly on the coast, there is, within a few miles, a 

 tableland of from 2,000 to 4,000 feet elevation, where the climate is cool and 

 bracing, and where the jaded man or woman can soon throw off the feeling of 

 lassitude brought about by the heat and humidity of the seaboard. In autumn 



