otanist, has given the
name of _Citrus inodora_, the North Queensland lime. It is met with in
the scrubs of the Russell River, and is described by Mr. Bailey as
bearing a greater resemblance to the cultivated species than the two
former varieties. It produces a fruit over 2 inches long by 1-1/4 inches
in diameter, having a thin rind and a juicy pulp of a sharply acid
flavour, so that even in its wild state it is a desirable fruit, and
takes the place of the cultivated lemon. Where native species flourish
as they do here, there is every probability of cultivated species
thriving equally well, and this is found to be the case in practice.

[Illustration: A young Orange Orchard, Woombye District.]

No fruits are more generally distributed or have a wider range in this
State than those of the Citrus family, as, with the exception of the
colder parts of the Downs, where the winter temperature is too low, the
Gulf country, and the dry Western districts, where there is no water
available for irrigation, they can be grown from one end of the State to
the other, provided that they are planted in suitable soil, and that, in
the drier parts, there is an available supply of suitable water with
which to irrigate them during the prevalence of long dry spells. The
country adjoining the eastern seaboard, extending from the Tweed River
in the South to Cooktown in the North--a distance of about 1,100 miles,
and extending inland for nearly 100 miles--is naturally suited to the
growth of citrus fruits, and there is probably no country in the world
that is better adapted to, or that can produce the various kinds of
these fruits to greater perfection or with less trouble, than this
portion of Queensland. Of course, the whole of this large area is not
adapted for citrus culture, as it contains many different kinds of
soils, several of which are not suitable for the growth of these fruits,
and there is also a large extent of country which is too broken and
otherwise unsuitable. At the same time there are hundreds of thousands
of acres of land in this area in which the soil and natural conditions
are eminently suited to the growth of citrus fruit, and in which the
tenderest varieties of these fruits may be grown to perfection without
the slightest chance of their being injured by frost; and where the
natural rainfall is such that, provided the trees receive ordinary care
and cultivation, there is seldom any necessity for artificial
irrigation.