y situated in the
Southern portion of the State, and at an elevation of from 2,000 to
3,000 feet above sea-level--districts having a warm summer but a
comparatively cold winter, during which frosts are by no means uncommon,
but where snow rarely falls; a healthy climate, with warm days and cool
nights, to which many visitors go during the heat of summer, when the
humidity of the coast is somewhat trying to persons not naturally
robust. The Downs country, particularly its southern or Stanthorpe end,
is the most suitable; the soil is mainly of granitic origin, and is very
suitable for the growth of apples, stone fruit, and grapes, but the
latter I will deal with by themselves later on. The country is by no
means rich from an agricultural standpoint, and is considerably broken,
but, as already stated, it is admirably adapted for the growth of fruit,
and within the last ten years at least 100,000 fruit trees, mostly
apples, plums, and peaches, have been planted out and are doing well.
The Stanthorpe show, which is held annually during the month of
February, is always noted for the excellence of its fruit exhibits,
which would be hard to beat, both for size, quality, and appearance. The
fruits ripen earlier than similar varieties grown in the Southern
States, hence supply our markets at a time when there is little outside
competition, and, consequently, meet with a ready sale at fair prices.
The fruit grown in the largest quantity is the apple, so I will deal
with it first.

THE APPLE.

As a description of this well-known and universally used fruit is
entirely superfluous, I will confine my remarks to the types of fruit
grown, and their method of growth. Owing to the fact that our fruits
ripen much earlier than similar varieties in more southern parts of
Australia, we have gone in largely for early varieties of apples, both
for cooking and table use, but have not confined our attention to them
entirely, as good-keeping sorts are found to do equally well, and have
been shown at the annual exhibition that is held in Brisbane during
August, in perfect condition, showing that the fruit has good keeping
qualities. The soil on which the apple is mostly grown is largely
composed of granitic matter, and is of a sharp, sandy, loamy nature,
often of a gritty character. It is usually rich in potash, the
predominating felspar being orthoclase, but somewhat deficient in
nitrogen and phosphoric acid. It is usually easy to work,