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1 June, 1900.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 529 
Orchard Notes for June. 
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By ALBERT H. BENSON. 
THe marketing of citrus fruits is still one of the principal operations in many 
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 ti 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 a previous issue of this Journal, 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 stragele 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 
estroyed, 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 1b. of sulphur and 1 Ib. 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. Fine flour can 
| re used in the place of the clay if desired, and will render the mixture more 
asting. ' 
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. = 
Where the ground is ready, plant deciduous trees this month ; do not plant 
too deep, and cut back hard at planting Clean up the orchard thoroughly, 
and plough and leave the ground rough as soon as pruned and the prunings 
are burnt. Gather up and destroy all fly-infested fruit of all kinds, as the 
Y 0°22. 
