1 Fes., 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 105 
unknown or only falls in such small quantities that it is of practically no help 
to vegetation. Summer rains are usually heavy,.and the autumn has a fair 
rainfall. This excessive dryness during the earlier part of the year renders 
irrigation essential to the profitable cultivation of citrus fruit, vegetables, and 
farm crops generally, as, without it, trees remain in a more or less dormant 
condition, and only start into vigorous growth and blossom when the summer 
rains fall. ‘This was very clearly demonstrated last year (the season of 1899-1900), 
when few, if any, of the unirrigated citrus trees bore any main crop fruit 
ripening from April to June, but bore a heavy second crop produced by the 
summer and autumn rains of 1900, which ripened during August last. Where 
the trees are irrigated, the growth is normal, the trees keep in vigorous health 
all the time, and ripen their fruit in the proper season, but when unirrigated 
there is practically no spring growth, a quantity of wood dies, and the bark 
becomes Heres neancl so much so that when the rain comes it cracks and peels, 
often causing heavy gumming, 
Periods of long droughts followed by heavy rains and the heat of the tropics 
produce conditions that are too drastic for vegetation, especially citrus trees ; 
hence, having the necessary water, irrigation is essential to profitable culture. 
This has been recognised by many of the growers, who have erected small 
irrigation plants for the Deere of watering their trees. The water is pumped 
from wells either by wind or steam power,-and is distributed over the land by 
means of piping. The method of applying the water is by means of circles 
round the trees, taking care that the water does not reach the trunk of the tree. 
A thorough soaking is given, and as soon as the surface of the land will bear 
working without packing itis broken up with a hoe orfork, so as to prevent caking, 
the broken surfacebeing sometimes covered subsequently with a mulch of weeds or 
dry grass. Irrigation is repeated as required, the condition of the trees indicating 
when irrigation is necessary. This is found to act fairly well, and the trees so 
treated bear good crops of fruit of fine quality. As the existing orchards are 
pretty widely separated from each other, no general scheme of irrigation has 
been adopted, but in future plantings I should strongly recommend the erection 
of a powerful irrigation plant capable of irrigating a considerable area of land 
both for fruit culture, the growing of vegetables, and the more valuable farm 
crops. This would induce close settlement, and enable the water to be applied 
in large quantities at a small cost to each grower. With close settlement the 
handling and packing of the fruit could be carried out to better advantage 
than is the case with the present isolated orchards, as a number of orchards 
near together could support a central packing-house, where the fruit would be 
systematically graded and properly handled and packed. In the different 
orchards that I visited I found that the trees were as a whole well pruned, the 
middles being well thinned out, though in some cases there was a good deal of 
dead wood, due to the causes I mentioned previously. Cultivation was usually 
somewhat deficient, though I noted instances where it was well carried out. I 
feel confident that, given a good supply of water and with proper cultivation, 
the production of citrus fruit of first-class quality can be greatly extended in 
the district without any fear of causing a surplus, as the quality of the fruit 
is such that, if the requisite care is devoted to the gathering, grading, handling, 
and packing, it will meet a ready sale in any market of Australia or any over- 
sea market to which it may be consigned. 
Like all other fruitgrowing centres, pests are pretty numerous, but they 
are capable of being kept in check to a much greater extent than is being done 
at present, provided the means advocated from time to time in this Journal 
were systematically adopted. 
So far, I have confined my remarks principally to citrus fruits, but there 
are other fruits well worthy of notice. ‘The mango grows to perfection, and 
when once fairly established stands both drought and wet better than any 
indigenous tree. Trees grow rapidly and to a very large size; they bear well, 
and much of the fruit is of good quality, though a large proportion is only fit 
8 
