338 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Nov., 1902. 
Stzing.—All fruit should be sized. If the crop is too small to justify 
buying a machine, a home-made device can be used; but, however small the 
crop, it must be sized to bring its worth in the market. There is an excellent 
sizer called the ‘‘ pneumatic,” and one adapted for a small crop, manufactured 
in De Land, Florida. The sizer should be adjustable and gauged tight, so as to 
secure uniform pack all the while. 
Wrapping.—From the sizer, the fruit goes to the wrappers, who cover each 
orange neatly with a paper tissue wrap, deftly fastening it with a final twist. 
It will pay every good grower in the end to wrap his fruit in papers on which 
are printed his name and distinguishing device. A leading packer savs:—“From 
the bin, we wrap and pack directly into the boxes, they having been neatly 
stencilled first. Where intelligent help is employed, each wrapper can pack 
his own fruit as he wraps.” Some use coloured wraps for the top edge, and put 
a display card 11 inches by 11 inches in each box. A careful packer says :— 
“TI believe all wraps should be printed with the grower's name. If his fruit is 
not good enough, it is not good enough to go to the market at all. It adds 
much more character to the package than coloured paper, which I have discarded.” 
Polishing.—Some polish their oranges by passing them through brushing 
machines, of which there are several good patterns.—Wlorida Fruitgrower and 
Farmer. 
NOTES ON IKRIGATING ORCHARDS AND VEGETABLE 
GARDENS. 
By ALBERT H. BENSON. 
Over the greater part of this State the question of irrigation for the 
production, of fruit and vegetables is a matter of vital importance in all 
seasons; and, even in our better-watered coastal districts, the rainfall is usually 
so erratic that there are few years when the judicious use of water will not be 
found profitable during one or more portions of the year. Even in the best 
seasons there are dry spells of greater or lesser severity, when the use of water 
would save or mature a crop that would otherwise be lost or at best greatly 
diminished. This being so, | am induced. to write the following notes, in the 
hope that they may be of some value to our growers, and will give them an 
idea of how best to obtain and apply water to their particular crop or crops. 
In the first place, it is evident that the possibilities of irrigation depend 
entirely on there being a supply of suitable water available for the purpose, 
and it is the question of supply that I will first deal with. 
As the fruit and vegetable industries are not confined to any one portion 
of the State, but are scattered all over it, it is impossible to devise any one 
scheme—or even several schemes—of irrigation that would benefit a large 
number of growers, as the bulk of our orchards and gardens are widely 
separated from each other, and, in the majority of cases, the individual grower 
will have to secure his own supply of water and provide his own scheme for 
distributing same; and it is to help such that the present notes are being 
written. 
Suppty or Water. 
In many instances, the only means of obtaining a supply of water will be 
by conserving the surplus rainfall by means of dams or tanks or a combined 
dam and tank. Gullies or watercourses, carrying more or less water during 
heavy rains, can be dammed, and the water, which would otherwise be lost, be 
conserved for use during subsequent dry spells. Such dams would, in many 
instances, be neither difficult nor expensive to construct, and would conserve a 
large body of water. Care would, of course, have to be taken in their con- 
struction so as to prevent leakage, and also to prevent their being carried away 
