Fruits of QueenslandBenson, Albert H. (Albert Henry)
Science
Fruits of Queensland
Benson, Albert H. (Albert Henry)
Fruit-culture -- Queensland
As a description of this well-known and universally used fruit is
entirely superfluous, I will confine my remarks to the types of fruit
grown, and their method of growth. Owing to the fact that our fruits
ripen much earlier than similar varieties in more southern parts of
Australia, we have gone in largely for early varieties of apples, both
for cooking and table use, but have not confined our attention to them
entirely, as good-keeping sorts are found to do equally well, and have
been shown at the annual exhibition that is held in Brisbane during
August, in perfect condition, showing that the fruit has good keeping
qualities. The soil on which the apple is mostly grown is largely
composed of granitic matter, and is of a sharp, sandy, loamy nature,
often of a gritty character. It is usually rich in potash, the
predominating felspar being orthoclase, but somewhat deficient in
nitrogen and phosphoric acid. It is usually easy to work, of fair depth,
and retains moisture well when kept in a thorough state of tilth. The
trees are usually planted at from 20 to 25 feet apart each way, when
they are either one year or two years old from the graft or bud. They
are headed low, so as to shade the ground from the heat of the sun, and
also so as to facilitate the handling of the crop when grown, as well as
to prevent their swaying about with the wind. The trees make a rapid
growth, come into bearing very early, often bearing a fair crop three
years after planting, and fruiting even earlier. The fruit of the early
varieties has usually a handsome appearance, but lacks keeping
qualities, but the later fruits are both handsome, high-coloured fruit,
and good keepers. The trees are not very liable to disease, as, thanks
to all varieties being worked on blight-resistant stocks, there is very
little American blight (woolly aphis). Scale insects do a certain amount
of damage, but are easily kept in check by winter spraying, and codling
moth is not bad unless grossly neglected, many orchards being quite free
from this great pest of the apple-grower. So far, the growing of apples
has been confined entirely to the growing of fruit for the local
markets, no attempt having been made to export same. A very small
quantity is dried, and a little is used for jelly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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