a liking for it, they become very partial to it, and eat it whenever
they can get it.

In addition to purely tropical fruits a number of semi-tropical fruits
are grown on our eastern seaboard, but are not entirely confined
thereto, as many of them are cultivated to a considerable extent in some
parts of our coastal and inland tablelands, particularly in sheltered
positions. Under the heading of semi-tropical fruits, all kinds of
citrus fruits, persimmons, loquats, date palm, wine palm, pecan nut,
Brazilian cherry, Natal plum, ki-apple, and many other fruits are
included, as well as several fruits that more properly belong to the
temperate regions, such as Japanese plums, Chickasaw plum, peaches of
Chinese origin, figs, mulberries of sorts, strawberries, cape
gooseberries, &c. Of all of these the citrus fruits, which include the
orange, mandarin, Seville, lemon, lime, grape fruit, kumquat, citron,
and pomelo are by far the most important, and are grown successfully
over a very large portion of the State, so that we will consider them
first.

[Illustration: Sour Sop, Mossman District.]

CITRUS FRUIT.

Quite a number of fruits are included under this heading, and all reach
a very high state of perfection in this State. The whole of the family,
the lemon-shaped citron excepted, is noted for the beauty and symmetry
of growth that its trees make, and I know of few more beautiful sights
in the vegetable world than a well-kept citrus grove in full bearing.
Take the common round orange as an example, its well-balanced and evenly
grown head, its dark glossy green foliage, its wealth of white blossoms,
which perfume the whole neighbourhood, or its mass of golden fruit
between its dark-green leaves, render it one of the most beautiful of
fruit trees at all times, but especially so when covered with blossoms
or ripe fruit. A typical Queensland grove is even more beautiful than
those of many other places, as the vigour and size of our trees, their
exceptionally healthy appearance, their dark foliage, and the heavy crop
of high-class fruit that they bear, are at once evident to a stranger
who has never seen the orange grown under such favourable conditions as
are experienced here. The yield is often so heavy that the trees
actually bend to the ground with the weight of their fruit, and a
stack of props has to be used to prevent the tree from splitting into
pieces. Those who have seen the enormous crops of apples that are