260 



THE GARDEJN AND FIELD. 



November, 1913. 



be assumed that by the caprifica- 

 tion of some of the old establish- 

 id figs of the countrv that bring 

 lo perfection only one of their 

 crops, such as figs of the San 

 Pedro type that only mature Bre- 

 bas or first crop, a considerable 

 gain will be obtained th'rough hav- 

 ing the insect and the pollen from 

 the Capri (male fig) to pollinate 

 the second crop of these varieties, 

 which is now lost to us. 



It. has alreadv been definitely 

 established that the Castle Ken- 

 nedy, which only matures its first 

 crop imdcr 'ordinary circumstances, 

 will with caprification mature its 

 second crop, and so with many 

 other varieties.' 



If the Capris of the district do 

 not always fit in for pollinating 

 these first or second crops that 

 arc now lost, thev may be obtain- 

 ed from either late or early dis- 

 tricts for the purpose of pollinat- 

 ing the crons as occasion may 

 dictate. This will materially in- 

 crease the returns of our already 

 existing fig industry. 



The superiority of the Calimvrna 

 over other drying fio-s shows itself 

 in the properties of superiority 

 of taste and nuttincss of. flavour 

 that it has on account of maturing 

 seeds and becominn- botanicallv 

 rine, on account of its fallinp- off 

 the tree when it has reached a 

 state of maturity, and on account 

 of the lesser amount of manitnila- 

 tion rerjuired to make a perfect 

 dried fig. 



Sulnhurincr, and even the dip- 

 ping and processing as in other 

 fi<rs, is not absolutely necessary. 

 The colour, smoothness, velvctv- 

 ness of skin, etc., is all that can 

 be di?sired. 



The fie is one of tho.se trees that 

 thrives over as big an area, in 

 as many kinds of soils, and under 

 as variable climatic conditions, as 



any other of our fruit trees, and 

 there are many places in the 

 Union w^here it should grow* to 

 perfection, especially if from one 

 to three waterings could be given 

 per year. Where the soil and con- 

 ditions are suitable, I don't think 

 one could put their land to batter 

 use than to laying down a Cali- 

 mvma fig orchard, say, from five 

 to ten acres to start with. 



2^ 



Fruit as Diet. 



— Arthur v. Benjafield. — 



Dr. H. Benjafield, at the fruit 

 conference the other day, took 

 occasion to refer in 'terms which, 

 to put it mildh:., were the reverse 

 of flattering to Dr. Arthur's evi- 

 dence befftre the Fruit Commission, 

 in which he suggested a dietary 

 fcale, which, if il was meant to 

 ap.]>eal to the average man, wo- 

 man, or especially children, was 

 a lamentable failure. Dr. Arthur, 

 it will be remembered, and suppos- 

 ing his meaning to have been cor- 

 rectly reported, certainly appeared 

 to go tmnecessarilv out of his 

 way to' depreciate the food value 

 of fruit and vegetables. 



Dr. Arthur is a man of eminent 

 scientific reputation and there is 

 no doubt that his protein and fats, 

 his carbohydrates and ash, his di- 

 gestive co-efficients, and his 

 calories of energy in ciuantity and 

 ratio were amply sufTici^nt and 

 scientifically correct in theory, 

 and probably in experimental re- 

 sult. Brought down to the l^vel 

 of general practice they mi<rht fail 

 and do it badly. Man wants but 

 little here below, we have been 

 told, but at least he wants that 

 little palatable and appetisinef. It 

 it probable that e"en with its in- 

 adequate supply of fruits, nuts and 

 \-effetal5les it would ^ su.stain 

 healthy and vigorous life though 



it would dejirive it of some of its 

 ameliorating influences. It may of 

 course be grossly material to 

 Speak of the pleasures of eating 

 but it is nevertheless true. It 

 should also be remembered that a 

 nut, fruit and vegetable only diet 

 would equally sustain healthy and 

 vigorous life, though possibly un- 

 der present conditions at slightly 

 increased cost. There is nothing 

 to be gained by going to extremes 

 and any system of- diet if it is 

 moderate, regular, and in variety 

 is good. In such a scheme fruit 

 undoubtedly has its mission. 

 — Theory and Practice. — 



The American people have, 

 through their 'colleges and experi- 

 mental stationis, gone very tho- 

 roughly into the question 'of hu- 

 man nutrition and the consensus of 

 opinion certainly gives to fruit 

 an important po.sition in dietetics. 

 This importance- may possibly be 

 better shown by observation than 

 by chemical analysis or experi- 

 mental data. The cas^ is some- 

 what, analagouis to that of plant 

 feeding. The chemi.st m.ay say 

 with perfectly triith that a given 

 soil does not want manure be- 

 cause it already has phosphoric 

 acid, potash and nitrogen enough 

 to last anything from ,so to 300 

 years or m.ore, yet the fruitgrower 

 comes along with a few pounds of 

 bonedust and increases his crop. 

 It is not necessary to refer to 

 the question of availability, etc., 

 we know much more about plant 

 food than human food, and it is 

 probable that the complexities of 

 the I working of the ever present 

 "microbe" are greater. The 

 point is that the chemist may 

 equally say that bonedust and'fruit 

 juices are not necessary, but that 

 the fruitgrower is one case and 

 mankind in the other prove that 

 they are. A want inborn (witness 

 the child's ap]-etite for fruit) 

 and marked has some more deeply 

 rooted source than the pleasures 

 of taste. 



DEOIDUOUS FRUIT TREES. 



WieKS Bros.. 



I^aLe 11. Wicks, liiverside and Ralhaniiab, Paynehani 



We specialize in Deciduous Fruit Trees and Vines. 45 acres of faultlessly grown Fruit Trees. 



Large Stoc'<8 of Apples, Almonds, \pricots, Cherrie.s, Plums and Prunes, Pear.s, Peaches, Quinces, etc., etc. 



ORDERS FORWARDED TO ANT PART OF THE COMMONWEALTH, 

 (nspection invited. Visitors met by appointment at Balhannah Railway Station 



Catalogues Free on^Application. 



