82 FRUITS OF QUEENSLAND. 



plants are usually set out in rows about 2 feet apart, with the plants about 

 1 foot apart in the row. Under favourable conditions they grow very rapidly, 

 and soon start flowering. Their cultivation is usually confined to comparatively 

 small areas of 2 or 3 acres in extent, as the labour of picking and packing 

 is usually done by the grower himself with the assistance of his family. They 

 are often planted between the rows of trees in young orchards, thus bringing 

 in a return whilst the trees are coming into bearing, and helping to keep the 

 pot boiling. They grow well on our coastal scrub lands, and have proved 

 a great assistance to many a beginner, as one has not long to wait before 

 obtaining a. return. 



The productiveness of this fruit in Queensland is phenomenal, as high as 

 5 tons of berries having been taken off 1 acre in a single season. There are 

 many varieties of strawberries in cultivation, some of which have been produced 

 locally from seed, and have turned out extremely well, being of better flavour, 

 stronger growers, and heavier bearers than introduced varieties in fact, local 

 seedlings have adapted themselves to local conditions, and stand our climate 

 better than those varieties which are natives of colder countries. 



The case berries, which are used for fresh consumption, fetch a fair price, 

 especially early in the season, but jam fruit sells at an average of 2jd. per lb., 

 at which price it pays fair wages, but is not a bonanza. As a rule the plants 

 are very healthy, and any fungus pests to which they are subject, such as 

 leaf blight, are easily kept in check by spraying, a knapsack pump being used 

 for this purpose. The ground is kept well worked and free from weeds, whilst 

 the plants are fruiting, and occasionally the ground is mulched, as is the case 

 in the plot shown in the illustration. No special knowledge is necessary for 

 their culture, but, at the same time, thorough cultivation and careful attention 

 to details in the growing of the plants make a considerable difference in the 

 total returns. 



CAPE GOOSEBERRY. 



This Peruvian fruit, introduced into this State via the Cape of Good Hope, 

 hence its name, has now spread throughout the greater part of the tropical 

 and semi-tropical portions of Queensland. Its spread has largely been brought 

 about by the agency of fruit-eating birds, that have distributed the seeds 

 widely by means of their castings. It is one of the first plants to make its 

 appearance in newly burnt-off scrub land, and often comes up in such numbers 

 as to give a full crop of fruit. In other cases it is usual to scatter a quantity 

 of seed on such land, so as to be sure of securing a plant. No cultivation is 

 rdven ; the plant grows into a straggling bush bearing a quantity of fruit which 

 is enclosed in a parchment-like husk. The fruit is gathered, husked, and is 

 then ready for market. The bulk of the fruit is grown in this manner, and 

 as it can be grown on land that is not yet ready for any other crop (grass or 

 maize excepted) it is a great help to the beginner, as a good crop and fair 

 prices can usually be obtained. The name " gooseberry " is somewhat mis- 

 leading, as it is not a gooseberry at all, is not like it, nor does it belong to the 

 same natural order. It is a plant belonging to the order Sblanacese, which 



