FRUITS OF QUEENSLAND. 77 



possible, it should not be more than 30 feet to water, as the tree, being a very 

 deep rooter, will penetrate a free soil to that depth. It will do on other free 

 loamy soils, but will not make the same growth as when planted in free 

 alluvials. It has been tested in several parts of the State, and it is probable 

 that it will be found to thrive over a considerable area of the coastal and 

 coastal tablelands districts. It produces an olive or acorn shaped nut, having a 

 thin shell, and of a flavour closely resembling that of a good walnut, and will 

 be a valuable addition to our list of nut fruits once it becomes better known. 



JAPANESE PLUMS. 



All varieties of this fruit thrive well and bear heavily in the more Southerly 

 part of our coast country, as well as on the country immediately adjacent to 

 it, the coastal tablelands, and several other parts of the State. The trees are 

 rapid growers, come into bearing very early, and often bear enormous crops of 

 fruit. They are good fruits for home consumption or for the fresh-fruit trade, 

 but are not equal to European varieties of plums for preserving, drying, or 

 jam-making. In this State they have one very great drawback, and that is 

 their liability to the attack of the fruit fly, a pest that very frequently destroys 

 the entire crop. For home use they are, however, a very useful fruit to grow, 

 provided that the trees are kept dwarf, so that they can be covered with a 

 cheap mosquito netting as a protection from the fly, as they are very easily 

 grown, are by no means particular as to the kind of soil on which planted, and 

 xi re heavy bearers. 



CHICKASAW PLUMS. 



This family of American plums does well in the same districts as the 

 Japanese varieties just dealt with, but has the advantage of being resistant 

 to the fruit fly. The trees are usually more or less straggling growers, the 

 fruit is of small size, but good for cooking or jam-making. One or more of 

 the varieties of this plum are bad setters, though they blossom profusely, but 

 this may be overcome either by working two varieties which bloom at the same 

 time on to the same stock, or by planting varieties that bloom at the same 

 time together, as the pollen from the one will set the fruit of the other. It 

 is a good plum for home use or marketing, despite its small size, as it is 

 easily grown, requires little attention, and is not over particular as to soil. 



CHINESE PEACHES. 



Peaches of Chinese origin thrive well on the coast, and are extremely 

 hardy. The fruit is not, as a rule, of high quality when compared with that 

 of the Persian varieties, but their earliness and ease with which they can be 

 crrown causes them to be planted by many who have small gardens. Like the 

 Japanese plums they are, however, very subject to the attack of fruit fly, and 

 require to be kept dwarf and covered in a similar manner if any good is to 

 be got from them. On the coast, they are practically evergreen, as they never 



