surface and press it down, then sprinkle just enough very fine soil to merely hide the seed. Cover the box over with a sheet or two of glass, or some white calico, or even paper. Keep the box in a rather shady place, but not under a living tree or bush. As soon as the seedlings are about an inch in height they may be planted in a little bed, which should be well prepared and made fine, about 2 or 3 inches apart. When they have become strong and well furnished with leaves, plant out about a foot apart in any convenient place where they may flower. Those which are not good enough to retain should be pulled up and thrown away.

Towards the end of the month many of the Narcissus bulbs will be in flower. These are generally known as daffodils. Hyacinths and other bulbs should be making good progress towards flowering. Plant out hardy annuals from the seed-bed, and thin out those growing in the garden.

Orchard Notes for June.

GROWERS of citrus fruits should be busy during the month, as practically the whole of the main crop of lemons left after the May gathering are ready for cutting during June; and as soon as a lemon is ready to cut, that is, as soon as it is large enough, or, if small, has commenced to colour up, then it should be gathered, as if allowed to remain on the tree the quality of the juice deteriorates, the rag and thickness of skin increase, and the keeping qualities of the fruit are greatly impaired. The earliest cut fruit is always the best quality fruit, and keeps best; and there is a much larger proportion of the first clip suitable for export than any succeeding clips. This is the experience of the Italian and Sicilian lemon growers. From the little fruit that has been tested here there is every reason to expect that, if our fruit is handled in a similar manner to the southern European fruit, and is cut at the same stage of ripeness, we can export lemons equal to any that we import, and that will have equally as good keeping qualities. The southern European growers and packers take the greatest possible care in gathering and grading their fruit, and, as a rule, never pack any blemished or inferior fruit for export, all such being utilised for the manufacture of citric acid and essence of lemon. During the past season however they have not kept up their standard of excellence, at any rate as far as this Colony is concerned, but have sent us some very dirty (scaly) fruit, and some with very thick skins, as well as a quantity of good fruit. I strongly recommend our growers not to copy them by exporting thick-skinned or scaly fruit, as if we want to make a market for our lemons in Europe or elsewhere we must send nothing but our best, as the expenses of getting our fruits on to the home markets are so great that nothing but the best will realise enough to pay expenses and leave a margin of profit for the grower.

Oranges will be ready for exporting during the month, and will keep and carry better than when riper; and those shipped towards the end of the month should reach Europe at a time that the market is practically bare of

this fruit.

Pruning should be in full swing in all deciduous orchards, as the sooner the trees are pruned the better, as then the energies of the tree will be devoted to developing the fruit and wood buds that are left, instead of those of the whole tree. Don't be afraid to prune young orchards severely—you will get stronger and larger trees if you prune back hard for the first few years than if you let your trees go unpruned--and when they are old enough to bear a crop the trees will be strong enough to bear it without being broken down or pulled out of shape by the weight of the fruit. Always rake up and burn the prunings; don't let them lie about the orchard, as they are always in the way of cultivation, and if there is any disease on the wood that is cut off, it is effectually destroyed by the burning.

Winter spraying should always follow the pruning in every deciduous orchard, and for an all round winter spray which is both a good fungicide

and insecticide you cannot beat the sulphur, lime, and salt remedy which has been recommended from time to time in the Agricultural Gazette, and of which I again give the recipe:

"Take 40 lb. of unslaked lime, 20 lb. of sulphur, 15 lb. of salt, and 50 gallons of water.

"To mix, take 10 lb. of lime, 20 lb. of sulphur, and 20 gallons of water; boil for not less than one hour and a half, or until the sulphur is thoroughly dissolved, when the mixture will be of a light amber colour. Slack 30 lb. of lime in a barrel with hot water, and when thoroughly slacked, but still boiling, add the 15 lb. of salt; when this is dissolved the whole should be added to the lime and sulphur in the boiler, and the whole boiled for half an hour longer, when water, to make the whole up to 50 gallons, should be added. Strain through a wire sieve, and keep well stirred whilst in use."

This mixture requires to be carefully made, and to be applied with considerable force through a fairly coarse nozzle, such as a large sized Nixon nozzle, and it must be kept well stirred or the pump will choke. Be careful to keep the mixture from the hands and face as much as possible, as it is very caustic in its action. This is the best winter remedy for the San Jose scale, apple scale, "Mytilaspis pomorum," greedy scale; and will probably be the best remedy for the new scale, " Aonidia fuscans," which is spreading so badly amongst peach and nectarine trees; and for all fungus diseases, such as the Fusicladium or black spot of the apple and pear, shot-hole fungus of the apricot, plum, and cherry; powdery mildew of the apple, canker of the apple and pear, and rust and freckle of the peach.

Planting should be done where possible during the month, as the earlier the trees are planted the better. Plant yearling trees in preference to two year old trees, they stand transplanting better. Don't plant too deep, but plant as nearly as possible at the same depth at which the trees stood in nursery; plant carefully, spreading the roots out well, and cover the roots with a little fine top-soil as this will tend to produce a quick growth of rootlets. Never dig the holes deeper than the surrounding ground is worked, or you will make a basin in which to hold stagnant water which will eventually kill or seriously injure the tree. Cut the tree hard back at planting, knee high is the highest that it should be headed at in any case, and in hot districts lower heading is preferable. After pruning plough the land, leaving it rough so as to become weathered and sweetened during the winter. Slowly acting manures such as coarse bones, boiling-down refuse, compost heaps, &c., can be applied during the month by broadcasting them over the land and cultivating or lightly ploughing in, as they will thus be rendered available for plant-food when the Spring growth takes place. Lime can be applied where necessary during the month; being first partly slacked then broadcasted and lightly ploughed in-take care to never apply lime in conjunction with any other manures, as if so used it will liberate all the ammonia contained in the other manures, so that it, the ammonia, will pass off as vapour and be lost. When required, draining can be done during the month, and when using drain-pipes take the advice of practical experience and don't use too small pipes, as it is waste of time and waste of money to do so. Threeinch drain-pipes are the smallest that should be used if you want to have a drain that will last and give satisfaction-anything smaller is of little good. Any odd jobs about the orchard such as fencing, clearing out surface-drains, making roads, &c., should be attended to in any spare time, and the outlets of all sub-drains should be examined from time to time to see that there is a good get-away for the water, as unless this in ensured the drains are worse than useless.

General Notes.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

WE have been favoured with a copy of The Journal of the Bureau of Agriculture of Western Australia, a perusal of which shows it to be a most useful organ for the agricultural community of that colony. The Journal would appear to be published fortnightly, and the number in review contains several articles of considerable practical and scientific value, one, on wine tasting, being by Mr. Despeissis, formerly of the New South Wales Department. There is a very concise market report. The advertising portion appears to be well patronised, which will probably account for the extremely low price (1d. per copy) at which it is sold to those to whom it is not sent gratis.

SEVERE WINTERS AND WILD BIRDS.

MR. FORESTER RUDDER, of Booral, has favoured the Department with his views of the results of the late severe winter and spring. As has already been fully described in the Gazette, the frosts and dry weather had a very serious effect upon our forest trees in many parts of the Colony. As a result, though the foliage returned after rainfall, there has been a great dearth of flowers. From this fact Mr. Rudder argues a very bad time for the fruit-growers, inasmuch as their crops will doubtless be levied upon by the birds to make up for the dearth of honey. He gives an instance of one orchard and vineyard which has been practically denuded of its entire produce during the past fruit season. Of course such severe weather is exceptional, but as a precaution Mr. Rudder advises that stringent measures be taken with the birds immediately they commence operations, as once they get in the habit of eating undisturbed, nothing will dislodge them. One means, he thinks, of destroying them would be by means of poisoned honey smeared on the branches of the fruit trees, most of these birds being honey

eaters.

MOUNTAIN RICE.

MR. S. G. F. SMITH, of Unkya Creek, Macleay River, reports the very successful growth of Mountain Rice, the seed having been supplied by the Department, on the coarse, red, mountain alluvial soil of the Macleay district. His seed produced an excellent crop of rice, and the plants were eagerly devoured by stock. Furthermore, the roots preserved the ground over which the mountain water flowed. Mr. Smith describes the crops as surprising, and evidently well suited to the district.

CASTOR OIL.

IN the March number of the Agricultural Gazette of 1892 appeared an article from the pen of Mr. Fred. Turner, Botanist, on the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis).

As to whether there has been any attempt at systematic cultivation of the plant since that time, in this Colony, at the immediate moment we have not any data, but the following further particulars may be of interest to readers of the Gazette. In India a considerable quantity of oil is manufactured of a coarse or crude description, the plant will grow in almost any variety of soil, and in this Colony will thrive in the coastal, central, and far western divisions.

An insect pest proves destructive to the castor oil plant in Lower Bengal, Assam, and Madras, being the larvæ of a moth, Achaea melicerte. In India the Ricinus is put to a variety of uses, especially for lamp oil, for such purpose it is of slow combustion, makes very little soot, and is therefore valuable in comparison with other oils; it is considered the cheapest of oils for lighting purposes or for the manufacture of soap. For dressing leather it is highly esteemed, and one valuable characteristic attributed to it is that it repels rats and such like vermin.

It is used considerably on the Indian railways. In dyeing Turkey-red it is largely used in securing the well-known and beautiful fixed dye of that material.

In France and Italy castor cake is valued as a manure for vines. The refined medicinal oil is a European production. France is reputed to take nearly half the total exports of castor seed from India.

The particulars we have of the export of Indian oil to Australia are as follows:

The decline in quantity is attributed to the increased use of mineral oils, and from various other causes, while the export of oil decreases, there is greater attention given to the shipment of seeds.

The value of castor oil exported from India in 1891, was put at £236,902 sterling, and the export of castor seeds in 1894 was 1,107,754 cwt. of which some 90,000 cwt. went to Britain.

The total imports of castor oil into the United Kingdom during 1894