[1 Dec., 1899. 
576 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 
sufficiency of plant food it will fail to bear fruit. There is one use to which I 
consider the olive can be put that has been overlooked by the writer of the: 
article, and that is its being grown as a shelter tree, an especially valuable con- 
sideration for many of the exposed parts of the Downs. Belts of olives planted 
as windbreaks would, therefore, answer the purpose for which they are planted, 
and, at the same time, the crop of fruit they produce would pay for the land! 
they occupy and the care and attention devoted to their culture. 
Viticulture. 
THE EFFECTS OF THE LATE FROST ON VINES. 
By E. H. RAINFORD, 
Viticultural Expert. 
Tue great frost of 2nd October and following days affected all varieties of 
vines almost to the coast; and from Toowoomba, south and west, so severe 
were the effects, especially in low-lying ground, that at first it appeared as 
though the entire crop had been lost. Here and there an isolated vineyard on, 
high ground had escaped, but in the majority of cases the vines presented an 
appearance as though a bush fire had been through them. 
Happily, later accounts are more reassuring, and although the damage is 
great, a certain amount of fruit will be harvested if no further meteorological 
troubles intervene. This is to be accounted for by several varieties of vines 
putting out a second crop with the new vegetation—a fact that should be a 
matter of satisfaction to Queensland vignerons, as it shows a vigour and 
recuperative power of vines in this colony that cannot be approached anywhere 
in Europe. It may be taken as a positive fact that had such a frost 
affected European vines at the same stage of vegetation, no crops 
would have been borne on the second growth, or, at most by the 
most careful disbudding a few odd bunches might have been fostered. Certain 
varieties of vines seem to have rather gained by the frost, as the second ¢rop is 
decidedly larger than the first. At the Westbrook State Farm, the Museats of 
Alexandria haye a much finer second crop. The black Muscats have also done 
well where last year’s wood was not killed. ‘The black Clusters and Clairettes 
(so-called Verdeilhos) have borne a second crop nearly equal to the first ; the 
Hermitage about half a crop. At the Hermitage State Farm, the Muscats of 
Alexandria and Clairettes have produced a second crop larger than the first ; 
but other varieties have little fruit. In the Warwick district, a large vineyard, 
soon after the frost, appeared to be totally destroyed, the crop being estimated 
at 1 cwt. or 2 ewt. The second crop will scale several tons if all goes well. 
Here the best results were obtained from the Clairettes and Black Spanish, with 
an almost full crop. Hermitage came next, with a scarce half-crop. Turning 
to the Roma district, information to hand shows that the Muscats will haye a 
fine second crop, and others, such as Sweetwaters and Verdeilhos, will have from 
a small to half a crop. On this point, any information sent to this Department 
will be very acceptable, as a record of the varieties of vines which gaye good 
second crops will be valuable for future reference. 
The vines which appear to be most reproductive after a severe frost are 
the Muscat of Alexandria, the Canon Hall and Muscat Hamburg, the Black 
Spanish, the Clairette (known as Verdeilho on the Downs), the Black Cluster, 
