ng their own in the midst of rank indigenous
vegetation, without receiving the slightest care or attention. In some
cases where cultivated fruits have been allowed to become wild, they
have become somewhat of a pest, and have kept down all other growths, so
much so that it has been actually necessary to take steps to prevent
them from becoming a nuisance, so readily do they grow, and so rapidly
do they increase. The very ease with which fruit can be grown when
planted under conditions of soil and climate favourable to its
development has had a tendency to make growers somewhat careless as
compared with those of other countries who have to grow fruit under
conditions demanding the most careful attention in order to be made
profitable. This is enough to show that Queensland is adapted for
fruit-growing, and the illustrations accompanying the description of our
chief commercial fruits will show them more forcibly than any words of
mine that my contention is a correct one. Latterly, however, there has
been a considerable improvement in the working of our orchards, growers
finding that it does not pay to grow second-quality fruit, and,
therefore, they are giving much more attention to the selection of
varieties, cultivation of the land, pruning the trees, and the keeping
in check of fruit pests; as, like other parts of the world, we have our
pests to deal with. This improvement in the care and management of our
orchards is resulting in a corresponding improvement in the quantity and
quality of our output, so that now our commercial fruits--that is to
say, the fruits grown in commercial quantities--compare favourably with
the best types of similar fruits produced elsewhere. The writer has no
wish to convey the impression that all that is required in order to grow
fruit in Queensland is to secure suitable land, plant the trees, let
Nature do the rest, and when they come into bearing simply gather and
market the fruit. This has been done in the past, and may be done again
under favourable conditions, but it is not the usual method adopted, nor
is it to be recommended. Here, as elsewhere, the progressive
fruit-growing of to-day has become practically a science, as the
fruit-grower who wishes to keep abreast of the times depends largely on
the practical application of scientific knowledge for the successful
carrying on of his business. There is no branch of agronomy in which
science and practice are more closely connected than in t