1 Sepr., 1897.| QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 273 
Orchard Notes for September. 
By A. H. BENSON, 
Tue planting and pruning of all deciduous trees should have been com- 
pleted eyen in the coldest districts by the end of August, and during the 
present month the orchardist should disbud and thumb-prune the young trees 
48 soon as they start out into growth. Judicious thumb-pruning is necessary 
m order to reduce the number of branches, only those buds being allowed to 
develop into branches that will be required to form the future head of the tree, 
all the rest being either removed or, better still, pinched back and converted into 
Spurs which will eventually bear fruit and which, meanwhile, will produce a tuft of 
eaves that will tend to strengthen the branch and to protect it from sunburn. 
praying should be continued during the month in the ‘case of deciduous trees 
attacked by fungus diseases, such as the shot-hole fungus or rust of the apricot 
and the Windsor pear blight of pears, the material used being Bordeaux Mixture. 
Where leaf-eating insects of any kind are troublesome, a little Paris green— 
Loz. to 10 gallons—should be added to the Bordeaux Mixture, the spraying 
material being then both an insecticide and fungicide, and two pests are 
destroyed by the one spraying. Vines that have not been treated for black 
Spot, as described in the Orchard Notes for August, should be treated at once; 
and yine-planting should be done during the beginning of the month, though if 
the cuttings have been kept in a cold place planting can be continued all 
through the month. In planting grape cuttings, see that the cutting is always 
planted firmly, and that the soil comes into direct touch with it all round, as, if 
not, it is very apt to dry out. Plant the cutting with the top eye just ona 
level with, or rather slightly below, the surface of the ground, not with 6 inches 
or more of the cutting sticking out of the ground, as the nearer to the ground the 
main stem of the vine starts the better the vine will be, and the easier will be 
its subsequent training. 
Orange-trees will be in full blossom during the month ; and in the earlier 
districts, the young fruit will probably be ready to treat for Maori or rust 
towards the end of the month. Maori is caused by a very small mite which 
begins its attack on the young fruit when it is about the size ofa marble, though 
the injuiry it causes is seldom noticeable till the fruit begins to ripen. Spraying 
the trees with a mixture of sulphur and soft soap, or with a weak solution of 
sulphide of soda, or dusting the trees with fine sulphur will destroy these mites. 
During the end of the month, pineapple and banana suckers may be set out 
during favourable weather in the earlier districts, but it is not advisable to 
plant out too early, as they do not root readily till the soil is thoroughly well 
warmed, Orchards and vineyards should be kept well cultivated during the 
month, as if there is a dry spring the success of the crop will depend very much 
on the manner in which the orchard is kept, as the better the orchard is 
cultivated the longer it will retain the moisture required by the trees for the 
proper development of their fruit. Quickly acting manures, such as sulphate 
of potash, sulphate of ammonia, and superphosphate, can be applied to fruit 
trees during the month if there is any suitable showery weather, but should not 
be applied during either a very dry or very wet spell. Fruit trees should be 
mulched, and when cow-peas are required for mulching they can be planted 
towards the end of the month. 
During the month a careful examination should be made of all fruit to see 
if any contains Jarve of fruit fly; and if such are found, they should be destroyed, 
as if extreme care is taken during this and the two following months to destroy 
the larve of all fruit flies, whenever and wherever found, this great curse of the 
fruitgrower would be greatly reduced, as it is on the careful destruction of the 
earlier broods of flies that the saving of the main crop of fruit will principally 
depend. Though the first damage caused by the flies is comparatively 
insignificant, they reproduce themselves so rapidly that a few mature insects in 
the beginning of the season become many thousands before it closes. 
