DL! 
380 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1900. 
manuring to maintain its fertility; and virgin scrub and alluvial soils produce 
the most rapid growth, but usually at the expense of the quality of the fruit, 
which is thick skinned and of poor flavour. No shallow soils, clayey soils; 
swampy soils, heavy rich volcanic soils (whether red or black), poor wht 1 
black or yellow sandy loams, are suitable for citrus culture, as they have al 
more or less heavy and impervious subsoils, and consequently become thorough 
saturated with stagnant water after heavy rains. No soils other than thos 
recommended are naturally suited for citrus culture in this colony, though Jess 
suitable soils may be made to grow good trees and produce good fruit by 
systematic draining. Where it is possible to do so, I strongly recommend tha 
land having perfect natural drainage should beselected rather than land thatrequit® 
artificial drainage, even though the latter is in a better situation, and has beta 
facilities for the marketing of the fruit. No matter how thoroughly the lan 
is drained artificially, the results, especially during times of excessive and Pr 
longed wet weather such as we often get during the rainy season, are not t0 be 
compared with those obtained on land that is naturally perfectly well dramer 
As I have already dealt fully with the question of orchard drainage in Part» 
Vol. L., of the Queensland Agricultural Journal, I will not go into this matter 
now, but will refer anyone wishing further information on this subject to wha 
I then wrote. 
Tur SELECTION OF THE Srre FOR THE ORCHARD. 
In selecting a site for an orange orchard several very important matter 
have to be taken into consideration, as they have a great deal to do with the 
ultimate returns when the trees come into bearing. 
In this colony the question of aspect is seldom one of vital importance 
as in the coastal districts, at any rate, we have no killing frosts and are seldom 
troubled with dry, burning winds; at the same time it is preferable tor the 
orchard to face from rather than to the west, as it is from the west that we 8° 
our heavy winter winds and any stray hot winds. The question of shelter 
however, one of the greatest importance, both from the hot and cold dry wt! i 
of the interior and from the strong north-east and south-east gales of our 
coasts. Belts of standing timber or scrub should always be left, as a protectio? 
to the orchard, on all exposed sides; or the site should be so chosen that 1 Ee 
naturally protected by higher land surrounding it. Throughout the coasta 
districts where there is usually an abundance of natural timber, this forms 1 
best of shelter, but in the Western country, where timber is scarce, arti cla 
shelter belts should be planted; such belts to be either of native trees 
suitable to the district or of introduced varieties of Eucalyptus, such as § 
Tasmanian Blue Gum. In some districts where the soil and climate is suitable, 
olives, though somewhat slow-growing at first, would eventually form a first 
class breakwind, and at the same time have the advantage of producing fruly 
of considerable commercial value. He 
Choose a piece of unbroken, nearly level, or only gently sloping land for t 
orchard; don’t plant the trees on steep or rocky hillsides, or on land that 18 Oo 
Be with gullies or creeks. In many instances throughout the colony one 
often tempted to believe that the orchardist has specially chosen the stonle* 
steepest, and most inaccessible portion of his land on which to plant his orcharés 
apparently considering that any place is good enough to stick an orange ire 
and seeming to forget that the tree requires constant attention, such as cl 
vation, pruning, destruction of fruit pests, &e., when it is planted. Thous, 
such land will and in fact does grow good oranges, the cost of production ane 
marketing is increased enormously. On such land everything Nes to be dom 
by hand, and at the dearest rate; whereas if the trees are planted on level lan® 
practically the whole of the cultivation is done by horse labour, and the expe? 
of pruning, destruction of fruit pests, and gathering the fruit is reduced , 4 
at least one-half. Such land can never be kept in perfect order, as heavy rai 
would wash away all the finer soil, and eeitidentls it suffers more from 
weather than well-cultivated comparatively level land. 
