174 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ava., 1899. 
The head of the tree should be kept well balanced, and the branches trained as near 
to the ground as is consistent with the various operations of cultivation. Trees so 
trained are not nearly so liable to suffer from the effects of high winds as those with 
long, bare stems, and are much more convenient to treat when affected with disease. 
Ixsurious Insects snp Diseases. 
The greatest obstacle in the way of successful cultivation of citrus trees is the 
number of injurious insects to which they are all subject, and which are now so 
thoroughly diffused throughout the colony that their complete eradication may well be 
looked upon in the light of an impossibility ; but by close attention they may be kept 
in check, and orchards maintained clean and healthy. The present method of treating 
affected fruits for destroying the insects with which they are infested may present 
recommendations to some minds, but the most sanguine would hardly advance it as 
being etlicient against the spread of disease, and must admit that it is inferior to a 
system whereby the trees are kept clear of disease, thus removing the occasion for the 
treatment of their product. he subject of treatment of the diseases is thus 
summarised by Lodeman :—‘ All applications against insects should be applied when 
they will do the most good. Every delay is of advantage to the parasite. The trees 
are in need of the application, and the grower should be in a position to modify his 
treatment so as to make it conform with the character of the insect or with the disease 
which is being treated. Every year and every day such knowledge will be of value; 
so many things are still unknown, and so many points still in dispute, that personal 
knowledge and judgment about individual cases are not only desirable but very 
essential. It is scarcely necessary to enter into details respecting the benefit derived 
from the proper application of insecticides and fungicides. |The question, Does 
spraying pay? can best be answered by the grower, and he must be his own judge 
regarding the advisability of treatment. Let the question be considered froma proper 
standpoint, and the matter will be simplified. ‘The final test in regard to the making 
of treatments may be stated in this form: Does the difference between the market 
value of sound fruit and the value of the product obtained when no treatments are 
made warrant the expense of purchasing materials and the labour of making the 
applications? The grower knows the price received for his crop; he also knows the 
yale: paid for perfect or fancy crops; the difference between the two, so far as injury 
rom insects and fungi are concerned, shows to what extent the crop may be benefited 
by treatments. It is then a simple matter to determine if the applications will pay. 
It will be noted that little question regarding the efliciency of the applications is here 
entertained. It is taken for granted, and with good reason, that proper treatment 
must produce the desired result. There probably exists an economical remedy for 
every disease affecting plants; the vast majority of these diseases are now under 
control, and although a few obstinate cases still exist, the future is encouraging when 
we consider the progress made in the past.” 
The same conditions necessary for the successful cultivation of the orange are 
essential for all citrus fruits, and similar treatment is necessary to insure their success. 
DISCUSSION. 
Mr. J. Parke (Tinana): I suppose the orange does as well about 
Maryborough as in any other locality in Queensland, and the majority of 
growers there now have the impression that seedlings suit the soil better than 
worked trees. For my own part, I first of all tried a number of worked trees 
which originally came from Sydney, but after I had cultivated and attended to 
them for 4 or 5 years they turned out unsatisfactory, so I got rid of them, and 
it was a number of years before I tried orange-growing again. Seeing some of 
my neighbours, however, successful with seedlings, I followed suit, and I am 
happy to say my trees are now doing well. Where a good deal of error is 
made in orange culture is in planting too closely, more particularly with 
seedlings. ‘The seedling, as a rule, grows very robust and large, and requires 
ample room. Provided the soil is suitablé, they want to be planted from 30 
to 85 feet apart, although, if the soil is poor and hungry, 20 feet apart is 
sufficient. In the Maryborough district, however, we do not plant on poor soil 
more than we can help. The greatest drawback to orange-growing is the insect 
and fungus pests. There are the injurious scales, over which we have spent a 
considerable amount of time, and although we are not likely to eradicate them 
altogether, still, I am happy to say, we are able to hold them in check. Some 
time ago, through the kindness of the Agricultural Department, we had Messrs. 
