FRUITS OF QUEENSLAND. 45 



do not cause any very serious damage, it has few serious pests. It is a fruit 

 that is bound sooner or later to come into more general favour, particularly 

 when the qualities of the finer varieties are better known. Until quite recently 

 it was considered to be one of the most difficult trees to propagate by means 

 of grafting or budding, hence its propagation has been practically confined to 

 raising it from seed, but now we have found out how to work it by means of 

 plate-budding, and are able to perpetuate our best sorts true to kind. This is 

 sure to lead to a general improvement of our existing varieties, as old trees 

 can be worked over by this means, or young trees of approved kinds can be 

 grown in a nursery and distributed. 



The fruit is very wholesome, is much appreciated by all who have acquired 

 a taste for it, can be used fresh or dry, ripe or unripe, and cans well. It is a 

 great addition to our list of purely tropical fruits, and finds a place in all 

 orchards or gardens where it is capable of being grown. 



THE MANGOSTEEN. 



Many attempts have been made during past years to introduce this 

 delicious fruit into Queensland, but these always resulted in failure. 

 True, a certain variety of mangosteen has been successfully grown at 

 Port Douglas, also on the Lower Burdekin, and rumours of the existence 

 of the true Java mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) have been received, 

 but, in nearly every case, they have, on investigation, proved to be 

 (iui-t inia xantlwcliymus, or some other species. At the Kamerunga State 

 Nursery, however, trees of undoubted parentage were successfully raised. 

 It is said that a thriving young plant, which is unquestionably G. mango- 

 stana, is owned by Mr. Banfield, of Dunk Island. The records of the 

 Kamerunga Nursery show that in October, 1891, a quantity about 100 

 of ripe mangosteen fruit was received from the Batavian agency by 

 the then manager, Mr. Ebenezer Cowley, from which some 600 seeds 

 were obtained. Of these, only a few germinated. The next mention is 

 of the distribution, in- February, 1892, of six plants to an applicant on 

 the Mossman, and of two more in May of that year. Since then several 

 young trees have been raised at the nursery, and one of them, in January, 

 1913, fruited for the first time for twenty-two years, and is the first to 

 have done so in this State. Some of the fruit was sent to the Department 

 of Agriculture and Stock, and proved to be fully equal to those of Java. 

 A full history of the mangosteen and of its introduction into Queensland 

 is given in " The Queensland Agricultural Journal " (vol. xxx., June 

 and July. 1913). The photographs were taken from the original fruit. 



