st.

When grown under favourable conditions, citrus-trees are heavy bearers
in this State, it being no uncommon thing to meet with seedling or
worked orange-trees of from ten to twelve years of age producing over
twenty cases of marketable fruit to the tree, averaging about 10 dozen
medium-sized fruit.

[Illustration: Bunch of Valencia late Oranges, Blackall Range District.]

[Illustration: Washington Navel Oranges, Barcaldine District, Central
Line.]

Citrus-trees of all kinds, particularly worked trees, come into bearing
very early, and the returns obtained from an orchard rapidly increase.
The illustrations give a good idea of the rapid growth, and a fair one
of the crop of fruit the young trees are bearing, but the following
examples, taken at random for the crop that was marketed in January,
1906, will show better how our trees bear:--

Mr. A., Blackall Range, marketed 7-1/4 cases per tree from a row of
twenty-five Beauty of Glen Retreat Mandarins, planted April, 1900.
A return of L1 10s. per tree.

Mr. B., from the same district, averaged 7 cases of Washington
Navel Oranges per tree from trees six years old, which realised L1
15s. per tree, and 8 cases of Beauty of Glen Retreat Mandarins from
trees of the same age. The navels were large, and averaged 5 dozen
per case, and the mandarins 10 dozen per case.

Mr. C, another district, averaged 6 cases of Valencia Late Oranges,
from trees six years planted, and 10 cases per tree from Emperor
Mandarins, nine years old.

One twelve years old orange-tree in this district produced over 25
cases of fruit.

Mr. D., same district as last; Washington Navels averaged 10 cases
per tree, ten years planted, and have borne regular crops since
three years old.

Numerous other cases might be given, but the above are sufficient to
show the earliness at which our trees bear, and the crops they yield.
Trees in full bearing often yield up to 40 cases, but these are usually
old seedlings, which bear a very heavy crop one year and a comparatively
light crop the next. All the instances I have quoted are from worked
trees, which are found to give the most regular and constant yields.
Until quite recently, citrus-trees were almost entirely grown from seed
in this State, with the result that we have a very large number of
types, and many crosses between different species. This was not
advisable, as a un