close of one of the
coldest winters on record, so that they do not show the crops or trees
at their best; at the same time, they give a fair idea of some of our
fruits, orchards, and fruit lands.

ALBERT H. BENSON.
Brisbane, Queensland, January, 1906.

INTRODUCTION.

Queensland's greatest want to-day is population: Men and women to
develop our great natural resources, to go out into our country
districts as farmers, dairymen, or fruit-growers--not to stick in our
towns, but to become primary producers, workers, home-builders--not the
scourings of big cities, the dissatisfied, the loafer, but the honest
worker whose wish is to make a home for himself and his family. There
are many such in the overcrowded cities of older countries, striving in
vain to make a living--existing, it can hardly be called living, under
conditions that are by no means conducive to their well-being--often
poorly fed and poorly clad--who would better themselves by coming to
Queensland, and by whom Queensland would be benefited. Queensland has
room for many such annually: men and women who come here for the express
intention of settling amongst us and building homes for themselves; who
come here prepared to work, and, if needs be, to work hard; who do not
expect to become rich suddenly, but will be contented with a comfortable
home, a healthy life, and a moderate return for their labour--results
that are within the reach of all, and which compare more than favourably
with the conditions under which they are at present existing.

Queensland's most valuable asset is her soil, and this requires
population to develop it: soil that, in the different districts and
climates best adapted for their growth, is capable of producing most of
the cultivated crops of the world, and, with very few exceptions, all
the fruits of commercial value, many of them to a very high degree of
perfection. This pamphlet is practically confined to the fruit-growing
possibilities of Queensland, and an endeavour is made to show that there
is a good opening for intending settlers in this branch of agriculture,
but the general remarks respecting the climate, rainfall, soils, &c.,
will be of equal interest to any who wish to take up any other branch,
such as general farming, dairying, &c. The Queensland Department of
Agriculture has received a number of inquiries from time to time, and
from various parts of the world, respecting the possibilities of
profitab