ps of fruit. They are good fruits for
home consumption or for the fresh-fruit trade, but are not equal to
European varieties of plums for preserving, drying, or jam-making. In
this State they have one very great drawback, and that is their
liability to the attack of the fruit fly, a pest that very frequently
destroys the entire crop. For home use they are, however, a very useful
fruit to grow, provided that the trees are kept dwarf, so that they can
be covered with a cheap mosquito netting as a protection from the fly,
as they are very easily grown, are by no means particular as to the kind
of soil on which planted, and are heavy bearers.

CHICKASAW PLUMS.

This family of American plums does well in the same districts as the
Japanese varieties just dealt with, but has the advantage of being
resistant to the fruit fly. The trees are usually more or less
straggling growers, the fruit is of small size, but good for cooking or
jam-making. One or more of the varieties of this plum are bad setters,
though they blossom profusely, but this may be overcome either by
working two varieties which bloom at the same time on to the same stock,
or by planting varieties that bloom at the same time together, as the
pollen from the one will set the fruit of the other. It is a good plum
for home use or marketing, despite its small size, as it is easily
grown, requires little attention, and is not over particular as to soil.

CHINESE PEACHES.

Peaches of Chinese origin thrive well on the coast, and are extremely
hardy. The fruit is not, as a rule, of high quality when compared with
that of the Persian varieties, but their earliness and ease with which
they can be grown causes them to be planted by many who have small
gardens. Like the Japanese plums they are, however, very subject to the
attack of fruit fly, and require to be kept dwarf and covered in a
similar manner if any good is to be got from them. On the coast, they
are practically evergreen, as they never lose their leaves entirely,
and are in blossom during the winter. When grown on the tablelands, this
early blossoming is a disadvantage, as the blossoms are liable to be
injured by frost, but in these districts peaches of Persian origin can
be grown instead.

FIGS.

Several kinds of figs can be grown successfully in the Southern coast
districts, the first crop ripening before Christmas, but the second or
main crop is often a failure, owing to the fact