444, QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Dec., 1897. 
Lemon Growing and Curing. 
[Read at the Conference of Australasian Fruitgrowers—Brisbane, June, 1897.] 
By W. S. WILLIAMS, Vicrorta. 
I wave endeavoured in the paper I am about to read, to state everything as plain] 
as I possibly can, and if any delegate fails to see the meaning of anything now read 
will, when I conclude, do my best to answer any question which he may wish to ask. 
Stocks, Raistne anD WoRKING. 
The best stocks for lemons I find to be strong seedlings from the Sweet Orange. 
Lemon stocks have all been failures with me, and Seville stocks too slow in growth to 
mateh the lemon. 
Budding I find the best method of working. It always makes a better tree than 
grafting. The stocks should be budded well up from the ground, as if worked low 
they are liable to take collar-rot disease at the point of union. ; 
Sort. 
The most suitable soil for the culture of lemons, I find to be a deep fine loam, 
with clay subsoil, which should be underdrained, as stagnant water causes the 
_ roots to rot. They also do well on light chocolate soils and red soils intermixed with 
ironstone gravel. 3 
The cleanest and most vigorous trees I have ever seen were grown on the last- 
mentioned class of soil. 
PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 
To prepare the soil for planting, two ploughings should be made, crossing each 
other and subsoiled to a depth of not less than 12 inches, and left to lie fallow through 
the summer and in autumn, the land should be well worked and fined with disc harrow 
and further fined and Jevelled with the Acme harrow, then gathered in lands of 20 feet 
with the plough, and finally worked lengthways with the Acme, which will bring it 
into good tilth. If the land is stubborn to break, the roller may be used with 
advantage. 
PLANTING. 
I find 20 feet by 20 feet is the best distance at which to plant in my district, and 
a strong wire marked every 20 feet, stretched across the lands, I find the best and 
truest method of planting by. The wire marks should come on the crown of the lands, 
and the trees planted at each mark. Care should be taken, in planting, not to plant 
deeper than the nursery mark, as the top roots should be only just covered with soil, 
which should have a decided fall from the neck of the tree; otherwise they may contract 
collar rot through water lodging round them. 
SITE. 
The best site I find to be a north-east slope, which will give shelter from westerl 
aud southerly winds. In order to produce a good percentage of clean-skinned, 
saleable lemons, they must be sheltered from heavy winds either naturally or artificially. 
I have some very much exposed and others well sheltered, and any person at a glance 
can see the difference in trees and fruit. 
On the other hand, in undulating country, they should not be planted in gullies, 
for then the frost destroys large portions of the trees and fruit; indeed, in several 
instances I have seen them totally destroyed. 
SHELTER. 
For artificial shelter, if there is plenty of land-room, nothing to my mind beats 
Pinus insignis planted 20 feet apart in the rows, the second row planted 10 feet from 
first or more, at the discretion of the grower, these trees to alternate with the first, 
oe six years they will come together and form a perfect break-wind 20 to 30 feet 
igh. 
g A double row of loquats alternating makes a good break; and if they have been well 
selected and are Sia attended to, the fruit will be a source of profit. Then there 
is the Brundis almond, a very upright growing sort, which bears good fruit, and is 
also of some profit; some object to it on account of its being deciduous. It is, how- 
ever, only a very short time bare of foliage. 
