70 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jan., 1902. 
Urchard Notes for January. 
By ALBERT H. BENSON. 
The Orchard Notes for the month of December apply equally to that of 
January, especially the remarks anent the handling and marketing of fruit and 
the treatment of various fruit pests. The fruit of the month is the grape, and. 
growers should take every care to market this fruit properly. The fruit should 
be cut when dry and cool before the heat of the day, and should be firmly 
packed in cases of moderate size, as if the grapes are at all tender they are. 
apt to be badly crushed if packed in too large cases. For shipping high-class 
grapes, such as Black Muscat of Alexandria, White Muscat of Alexandria, 
‘Waltham Cross, or even Raisin de Dames, I strongly advise growers to use 
5-lb. chip baskets, eight or ten of which go to a crate, as the fruit carries 
better in them and will reach its destination with the bloom on if well packed 
and carefully handled. The fruit should be sold in the chip basket, so that 
the purchaser gets the grapes as packed in the vineyard and without being 
handled by the retailer. This method of packing grapes is common in 
California, especially where the fruit has to be shipped long distances ; and ag 
our best grapes here come from the Koma and Mitchell districts, and are often 
more or less damaged in transit, it should be of value to us in that it would. 
enable the fruit to be marketed in a better and fresher condition than is the 
case at present. 
Ido not think such chip baskets are obtainable in Queensland, but if not they 
could be easily introduced, as they are now coming into regular use in Melbourne. 
Mangoes will also be ripening in the Southern part of the colony towards 
the end of the month, and I strongly advise, if any are to be shipped to the 
Southern colonies, that none be sent unless they are of good quality, as the 
carrot-flavoured stringy rubbish that has been sent in the past has simply killed 
the demand for mangoes in the Southern markets, and it will be impossible to- 
open up a trade for our fruit there unless it is of good quality, and this good 
quality must be maintained. As there is a great deal of uncertainty as to what 
constitutes a good mango, I may say briefly that a good mango should be 
fibreless or nearly so, and should have no pronounced unpleasant flavour of 
carrots or turpentine, but should be either a luscious, high-flavoured fruit or 
a juicy, good-flayoured, sprightly fruit. Too large mangoes are not an 
advantage, a round mango of 6 to 8 oz. weight being about the best size and 
shape for packing and carrying. 
I would be glad to receive samples of the fruit and foliage of any 
mangoes that the grower may consider to be of special merit, with a view 
to making drawings of and keeping a complete record of same, so that we: 
may have reliable information as to the best varieties of mangoes in the 
colony, and know which are best to propagate. In addition to sending the 
fruit and foliage, I would be glad for the grower to supply information 
respecting the source from which the tree producing the fruit was derived, the 
nature and habit of growth of the tree, whether it is a good or bad cropper, and 
the class of soil it is growing in. 
During the month see that the orchard is kept well cultivated; and in 
dry districts, where there is water available, citrus trees should receive 
a good irrigation. Keep the nursery clean, look after all grafts or spring 
buds, and see that they are growing clean and straight, and where strong 
