FRUITS OF QVEEXSLAyi). 57 



when all danger of frost is past. It is a rapid grower, and forms a bush some 

 4 feet across by 4 or 5 feet high. It is a heavy bearer, and the fruit meets with 

 a ready sale. To do well, the plants require a warm, free, well-drained soil, 

 .as they do not thrive where there is any stagnant water at or near the roots. 



The avocado or alligator pear is not grown to any extent, though it thrives 

 well, particularly to the north of the tropic of Capricorn, and can also be 

 grown successfully as far south as the New South Wales border. It is a fruit 

 that deserves to be cultivated to a much greater extent than it is at present, 

 and once it becomes better known I have no doubt that it will be planted in 

 considerable numbers, and prove a very welcome addition to our already long 

 list of fruits, as it is unequalled, in my opinion, as a salad. As far as my 

 experience goes, it is likely to become a profitable fruit to grow, as once 

 persons acquire a liking for it, they become very partial to it, and eat it 

 whenever they can get it. 



In addition to purely tropical fruits a number of semi-tropical fruits are 

 grown on our eastern seaboard, but are not entirely confined thereto, as many 

 of them are cultivated to a considerable extent in some parts of our coastal 

 and inland tablelands, particularly in sheltered positions. Under the heading 

 of semi-tropical fruits, all kinds of citrus fruits, persimmons, loquats, date 

 palm, wine palm, pecan nut, Brazilian cherry, Natal plum, ki-apple, and many 

 other fruits are included, as well as several fruits that more properly belong to 

 the temperate regions, such as Japanese plums, Chickasaw plum, peaches of 

 Chinese origin, figs, mulberries of sorts, strawberries, cape gooseberries, <fec. 

 Of all of these the citrus fruits, which include the orange, mandarin, Seville, 

 lemon, lime, grape fruit, kumquat, citron, and pomelo are by far the most 

 important, and are grown successfully over a very large portion of the State, 

 so that we will consider them first. 



CITRUS FRUIT. 



Quite a number of fruits are included under this heading, and all reach a 

 very high state of perfection in this State. The whole of the family, the 

 lemon-shaped citron excepted, is noted for the beauty and symmetry of growth 

 that its trees -make, and I know of few more beautiful sights in the vegetable 

 world than a well-kept citrus grove in full bearing. Take the common round 

 orange as an example, its well-balanced and evenly grown head, its dark glossy 

 green foliage, its wealth of white blossoms, which perfume the whole neighbour- 

 hood, or its mass of golden fruit between its dark-green leaves, render it one 

 of the most beautiful of fruit trees at all times, but especially so when covered 

 with blossoms or ripe fruit. A typical Queensland grove is even more beautiful 

 than those of many other places, as the vigour and size of our trees, their 

 exceptionally healthy appearance, their dark foliage, and the heavy crop of 

 high-class fruit that they bear, are at once evident to a stranger who has never 

 seen the orange grown under such favourable conditions as are experienced 

 here. The yield is often so heavy that the trees actually bend to the ground 



