1 Fes., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 135 
lower ground; all the old earth was removed as far in amongst the roots as 
was possible without injuring them; all the main roots leading into the bad 
soil were cut back at the trench with a very sharp knife ; stones were pliced in 
the bottom of the trench to about 9 inches deep ; sods were carefully spread on 
these, grass side down, and draining tiles and stones were put in the drains. 
The trenches were then filled up with good soil. All the dead wood was 
cleaned out of the two trees, and in a short time they seemed to have received 
a new lease of life. 
Root-pruning is not practised in this country nearly as much as it should 
be. By following the above simple plan many trees might be saved and rendered 
fruitful, which are at present slowly dying. Much of the disease of which we 
read, and many pests—insect. and fungoid—are induced by the ‘conditions 
under which the roots are endeavouring to perform their duties, and one of 
the first steps to be taken is to so improve the general health of the plant that 
it may be able to hold out against its natural enemies. 
We pass along the course taken on our last walk, when it will be 
remembered that we left off our talk at the Lily Ponds (K.9 on the map). As 
we journey towards the same point, we pass two objects of interest just now, 
as they are in full flower. One is the beautiful shrub called the Queen 
Flower (Lagerstremia indica, var. Matthewsii). One truss is a bouquet in itself, 
but it is only when one pulls the single flower and examines it closely that the 
exquisite beauty of its form becomes evident. It consists of six lilac flower- 
leaves delicately crimped as though done by some cunning artist, and so highly 
set on to the central cup (calyx) that they tremble with every movement. 
Another of these plants represented in the Gardens grows to the stature of a 
tree in its native country (India), and has great value asa timber. It is the 
Jarool (L, flos-regine). The wood is hard, and takes a high polish. Both 
varieties may be found in flower in a large bed at H. 8. 
Another conspicuous object is a very fine clump of two species of 
Allamanda (A. Schottii), with a beautiful bright yellow flower 5 inches in 
diameter, and A. Hendersonii, with a flower of similar colour, but only 24 
inches across. These plants are allowed to trail naturally over a raiscd trellis. 
This is the way to grow them in order to display their full beauty, and 
certainly the group here referred to is a most beautiful object, and proves 
that even the native plants of such a country as Brazil will thrive here with a 
vigour hardly exceeded in their native home. f 
We have now arrived at the point where we left off last month, at the 
most southerly of the lily ponds. (The Brisbane River at the Gardens runs 
almost from south to north.) 
To the right, on a bank, is a bed of plants of the curious Cacti, peculiar 
to dry regions in Centra] America, but particularly to the dry upland plains of 
Mexico, where they form, with Agaves and other thick-leaved plants, almost the 
sole vegetation. ‘The prickly pear belongs to this class. It is regarded with 
undiluted horror in Queensland. In Mexico it renders travel possible over the 
arid plains, which otherwise would be impassable except perhaps to camels. 
In a report from Her Majesty’s Legation in Mexico to the Marquis of 
Salisbury, its value as food for cattle and sheep is dilated upon. The writer, 
who is the manager of the Atlan Land Company, says :—“ My experience is that 
the plant is almost invaluable in hot, dry, and specially sandy countries, where 
vast stretches have to be crossed by ox-teams, and there is little or no water 
for man or beast. Some years ago I was well acquainted with that almost 
desert country lying between San Antonio, Texas, and Chihuahua, Mexico, 
long before the advent of railways in that part, and when nearly all the wool 
grown in the western part of Mexico found its way to San Antonio, Texas, by 
means of large trains of ox-wagons ; and I may safely say that had it not been 
for that providence of Nature, the prickly pear, the large traffic could not have 
been carried on, nor could the vast herds of sheep have been maintained in 
that dry, aridregion. . . . . It is the custom, when teams of ox-wagons 
are travelling, to send men on ahead in the afternoon to the place of camping 
