584 . QUEENSLALD AGRICULTURAL JOURNAT.° [1 Jonr, 1898. 
Orchard Notes for June. 
' By ALBERT H. BENSON. 
Tx marketing of citrus fruits is still one of the principal operations in man 
orchards throughout the colony, and the remarks anent this matter that have 
appeared in these notes for the past two months should be borne in mind and 
acted upon, as no matter what the quality of the fruit may be it always sells 
best when well packed and attractively got up, as the better it looks the better 
it sells. 
In many parts of the colony deciduous fruit trees should be pruned during 
the month, and I strongly advise fruitgrowers to read my remarks on this 
subject which appeared in this Journal some months since, as thorough pruning 
is seldom carried out, many trees being allowed to grow of their own sweet will 
without let or hindrance. This neglect to properly prune fruit trees is 
conducive to the rapid spread of many insect and fungus diseases, as when trees 
are allowed to grow into a dense bush it is impossible to keep them clean by 
means of any of the ordinary methods adopted for the eradication of disease, 
such as spraying, &c.; and when they are allowed to straggle all over the place 
the straggling limbs are very apt to become more or less diseased. 
Old neglected trees of good varieties, and of which the roots are still 
healthy, should be cut hard back, and all dead, broken, or badly diseased 
branches should be cut off, and a new head be allowed to form; but where such 
trees only produce inferior fruit, that is of no commercial value, they should be 
either destroyed, or, if wished, they may be grafted on next spring with good 
valuable varieties. Old neglected trees are the breeding-grounds of many 
diseases, and when they are of no value whatever they should be destroyed, as 
they are a menace and source of infection to the neighbourhood in which they 
are growing. 
- Do not be afraid to prune too heavily, as it is better to lose a crop and 
thereby get your tree or trees into a healthy state than to leave them in an 
unhealthy and unpruned condition, and get a poor crop of inferior fruit. 
Prune hard, and gather up and burn all prunings; do not let them lie about, 
but burn them up, as by doing so any diseases that may be on the wood that 
has been pruned off will be destroyed. Where trees are hard cut back, and 
only the main limbs are left, it is advisable to follow up this same pruning with 
a dressing that will destroy all insects or fungus pests still remaining on the 
tree, and for this purpose the best remedy is to paint the stems and branches 
with the following mixture, prepared thus:—Boil 2 |b. of sulphur and 1 Jb, of 
quicklime in 2 gallons of water for about one hour, then add fine clay to the 
mixture till it is as thick as paint, and apply with a brush. ine flour can 
be used in the place of the clay if desired, and will render the mixture more 
lasting. 
Where San José, Greedy, Mussel, or Parlataria Scales are present, this 
method of treatment is the most efficacious, and is even better than spraying 
with the sulphur, lime, and salt wash mentioned in my pamphlet on spraying. 
This mixture is also of value for painting the stems and main branches of 
citrus trees covered with mosses or lichens, or attacked by white, red, circular 
black, mussel,.or other_scale insects. 
