1 Juty, 1901.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, 159 
samples of the fruit case used in the American trade. We do not want to 
offer a prize for the best case, as we have it now, and only want to useit. I 
think Mr. Johnson’s £2 per tree cannot be considered an average case. I am 
glad to hear the Navel orange is doing well in his district, as I had something 
to do with its importation into Queensland. The question with the Navel 
orange is whether it will bear well. In Florida, in the United States, it seems 
to be shy, but in California it is said to do much better. Too much attention 
cannot be given to the subject of bird protection, and the Acclimatisation 
Society have been trying to get the Native Birds Protection Act put into force. 
We got a conviction the other day, and, although it caused us a lot of trouble, 
that one case did a great deal of good. Tf fruitgrowers’ associations would - 
take similar action, much benefit to the industry would result. 
Mr. G. Turner (Bowen): It is my intention to submit a motion to the 
Committee of Resolutions, asking that a deputation wait upon the shipping 
companies relative to the carriage of fruit. One grievance at present is that 
they will not allow 40 cubic feet to the ton, and another is the pilfering of fruit 
by passengers and crews. The Carriers Act might compel them to take some 
action in that respect. There is another motion to be brought up, dealing with 
the flying fox; and we have a third, asking for assistance to procure cyaniding 
plants for the clearing of trees or other towards any system that will act the same 
as cyaniding. I+ is rather too expensive for one man to buy a cyaniding 
outfit, but, with some little assistance from the Government, a plant might be 
secured and become of great assistance to u district. My district has one other 
little grievance, Mr. Chairman. Bowen has been a fruitgrowing district as 
long as I can remember, yet Mr. Benson, your Fruit Expert, has never been 
there, although repeated applications have been made for his services. TI find 
he is constantly going to other districts, and I think we have a claim to a visit 
from him. 
In reply toa number of questions, Mr. A. H. Benson (the Instructor in 
Fruit Culture) said: Ido not think you need have the slightest fear of the 
deterioration of worked trees. In a work on the orange, published in 1804, 
there are pictures of varieties of oranges that are growing to-day. As for one 
gentleman’s Glen Retreat oranges being a little bit coarse, it is because they 
are young trees growing on new soil. When the trees get older the fruit will 
get better. Fruit from young trees on new soil will always be more or léss 
coarse. I have been using caustic soda, Stockholm tar, and whale-oil soap, and. 
have found it a very good remedy. It is much the same as the old Californian 
resin and soda wash. ‘There is this difficulty about it : You must not use it on 
our fruit when it is ripening, as you will stain the fruit. Roughly speaking, 
the standard American fruit case could be landed here, with the freight, but 
without the duty, at about 6d. The grape slice is a crate holding four small 
layers of grapes of 5 lb. each. It could be landed here at about 6d., including 
the “slices.” Youcan pack such things as grapesin these slices, and they go direct 
from the orchard to the consumer without being handled by the middleman. 
The result is that, instead of your fruit keeping three or four days, it will keep 
seven or eight. If you could erecta building in the shape of a perfect cube 
you would have the strongest structure in the whole world, and the nearer 
you get your fruit case to the cube the stronger it is. These American cases 
are practically 2 cubic feet. There are really two cases of 1 cubic foot 
each. Most of you gentlemen know the case that is sent from Sicily and 
Southern Europe. Well, the one the Californians are using is practically the 
same case. If you are going to ship to London you must have a tight case. 
Mr. Johnson says a ventilated case; but if you have too much ventilation in 
your cases, too much air passes over the fruit and the skins will shrivel. Cure 
your fruit before you pack it, and then the fruit will travel from one end of 
the world to the other. The first fruit sent from New South Wales to 
England was:pulled from the trees, jammed into cases, and was bad before 
it left Sydney. Just before I left New South Wales I was instrumental in 
sending the first successful shipment of oranges to England. We shipped 
