220 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Szpr., 1902. 
Orchard Notes for September. 
By ALBERT H. BENSON. 
The planting and pruning of all deciduous trees should have been completed 
even in the coldest districts by the énd of August, and during the present month 
the orchardist should disbud and thumb-prune the young trees as soon as they. 
start out into growth. Judicious thumb-pruning is necessary in order to reduce 
the number of branches, only those buds being allowed to develop into branches 
that will be required to form the future head of the tree, all the rest bein 
either removed, or, better still, pinched back and converted into spurs which wi 
eventually bear fruit and which, meanwhile, will produce a tuft of leaves that 
will tend to strengthen the branch and to protect it from sunburn. Spraying 
should be continued during the month in the case of deciduous trees attacked 
by fungus diseases, such as the shot-hole fungus or rust of the apricot and the 
Windsor pear blight of pears, the material used being Bordeaux Mixture. 
Where leaf-eating insects of any kind are troublesome, a little Paris green— 
1 oz. to 10 gallons—should be added to the Bordeaux Mixture, the sprayin 
material being then both an insecticide and fungicide, and two pests are destroye 
by the one spraying. Vines that have not been treated for black spot, as 
described in the Orchard Notes for August, should be treated at once; and yine- 
planting should be done during the beginning of the month, though if the 
cuttings have been kept in a cold place planting can be continued all through 
the month. In planting grape-cuttings, see that the cutting is always planted 
firmly, and that the soil comes into direct touch with it all round, as, if not, it 
is very apt to dry out. Plant the cutting with the top eye just on a level with, 
or rather slightly below, the surface of the ground, not with 6 inches or more 
of the cutting sticking out of the ground, as the nearer to the ground the main 
stem of the vine starts the better the vine will be, and the easier will be its 
subsequent training. ‘ 
Orange-trees will be in full blossom during the month, and in the earlier 
districts the young fruit will probably be ready to treat for Maori or rust 
towards the end of the month. Maori is caused by a very small mite, which 
begins its attack on the young fruit when it is about the size of a marble, 
though the injury it causes is seldom noticeable till the fruit begins to ripen. 
Spraying the trees with a mixture of sulphur and soft soap, or with a weak 
solution of sulphide of soda, or dusting the trees with fine sulphur, will destroy 
these mites. During the end of the month pineapple and banana suckers may 
be set out during favourable weather in the earlier districts, but it is not 
advisable to plant out too early, as they do not root readily till the soil is 
thoroughly well warmed. Orchards and vineyards should be kept well culti- 
vated during the month, as if there is a dry spring the success of the crop will 
depend very much on the manner in which the orchard is kept, as the better 
the orchard is cultivated the longer it will retain the moisture required by the 
trees for the proper development of their fruit. Quickly-acting manures, such 
as sulphate of potash, sulphate of ammonia, and superphosphate, can be applied 
to fruit trees during the month if there is any suitable showery weather, but 
should not be applied during either a very dry or very wet spell. Fruit trees 
should be mulched, and when cow peas are required for mulching they can be 
planted towards the end of the month. 
During the month a careful examination should be made of all fruit to see 
if any contains larve of fruit fly; and if such are found, they should be 
destroyed, as if extreme care is taken during this and the two following months 
to destroy the larvie of all fruit flies, whenever and wherever found, this great 
curse of the fruitgrower would be greatly reduced, as it is on the careful 
destruction of the earlier broods of flies that the saving of the main crop of 
fruit will principally depend. Though the first damage caused by the flies is 
comparatively insignificant, they reproduce themselves so rapidly that a few 
mature insects in the beginning of the season become many thousands before it 
closes. 
