15 



Due consideration to local climatic conditions should, therefore, 

 influence fruit-growers in the selection of what to plant, with the 

 idea of avoiding a glutted market. Thus the settlers at a greater 

 altitude within the influence of the coastal climate should cater for 

 the later market, whereas those located further inland in the 

 brighter but drier regions will, with earlier varieties, have a good 

 hold of the early market. But here, again, other points have to be 

 considered, and good carrying capabilities must not entirely be 

 overlooked when seeking for earliness. 



Aspect will also modify the climate to some extent. Many 

 tender plants will thrive in sheltered spots which would succumb to 

 exposure to the rigours of the climate only a short distance away. 

 Low lying damp hollows subject to late ground frosts often prove 

 fatal to potatoes or to those vines which break into leaf early in the 

 season, although these would have been quite safe on a warmer 

 slope only a stone's throw distant. Then again an eastern aspect, 

 other things being equal, will generally hasten the ripening of fruit 

 by several days. Clay bands or ridges of rocks running across a 

 field will, by throwing up the water, often modify the climatic con- 

 ditions either for good or evil within a row or two. 



Exposure to winds, the colour and the texture of the soil, or in 

 other words, its power of absorbing and of retaining heat and 

 moisture are all factors which to some extent modify a local climate. 



OUR SOILS. 



Great stress has been laid on the merits of the climate 

 of the several districts of Western Australia capable of pro- 

 ducing fruit, but, before pronouncing on the suitability of any 

 given area, either for agricultural purposes, or more especially fruit 

 growing a branch of agriculture which is being more particularly 

 discussed in these pages the fact that the soil is in some measure 

 suitable for the purpose one has in view, must be ascertained. 



In the pursuit of fruit-growing, soil must give precedence to 

 climate in as much as the first can, by means of judicious manuring 

 and cultivation, be made to lend itself to the special requirements 

 of the plant, whereas in the second instance, the welfare and pro- 

 ductiveness of the plant is mainly dependent upon the nature and 

 peculiarity of the climate. 



It is a well-known fact that soils are more or less suited to 

 different sorts of trees, and it is one of the leading features of 

 Western Australia that the nature and character of the soil is 

 extremely variable ; the line of demarcation of one kind being in 

 many instances somewhat abrupt and sharp in its delimitation. On 

 closer examination, however, the soils which are met with in the 

 agricultural districts of this State belong to only a few well-defined 

 types. These are often intermixed together in various ways, and 

 cover, generally speaking, small areas only. Their recurrence at 

 frequent intervals, according to the contour of the locality, lends to 

 the country a motly appearance ; a characteristic which has been 



