only checked them for a time. Spreading straw over the affected patches and burning it had practically no effect. Owing to constantly cutting the fodder and irrigating, the pest has, however, made but little headway..

Mr. S. A. White, of Wetunga, Fulham, has used quick-lime without success, gas-lime with temporary success, and Paris green, which he found killed the insects.

From the reports received it seems that the insects appear after the first rains about April, and continue to reproduce until about October, when they disappear. Hot weather plays havoc with them, and after hot dry wind the difference in numbers is most marked. Moisture seems essential to their vigorous growth. When the autumn and winter is dry the pest is not so severe as in wet years, the present season being an instance of this fact. The attacks of the insect are by no means confined to lucerne. Grass of all sorts, the so-called Cape weeds or Cape marigold, vegetables, flowers, and even cereal crops are severely attacked, and owing to this fact the treatment is rendered most difficult. If a paddock is cleared of the pest, within a few days it is again reinfested by myriads of insects from the roadsides and adjoining paddocks. All the growers are unanimous in stating that unless some practical remedy is discovered it will mean very serious loss to lucernegrowers, and some say it will be quite impossible to grow lucerne at all. All the remedies so far tried have simply checked the pest, for the reasons mentioned. The most beneficial results have been obtained from (a) hurdling sheep on the affected paddocks, which appears to destroy the insects by trampling them into the soil; and then breaking up the surface soil with scarifier or cultivator; (b) gas-lime spread over the field after the lucerne has been cut, which seems to destroy or drive away the insects for a few weeks, and also to stimulate the growth of the crop. Care is necessary in applying this, as an overdose will greatly injure, if not kill, the lucerne. It is worthy of note that in districts badly affected some paddocks of lucerne which are irrigated during summer months never seem to suffer to any great extent, and this is attributed by some to the fact that the moisture causes the insects to appear prematurely or out of season, with the result that they are destroyed by the hot dry weather.

Experiment in Orange-shipment by the Board for Exports.

[Second notice, see page 716, Part 10.]

JAS. STEPHENSON,
Secretary.

THE following correspondence, relating to the experimental shipment of oranges, will be seen to fully bear out the theory of the Board as to the possibility of our supplying the British markets throughout our flush season, thereby relieving the surplus stocks and securing better returns to the growers.

The full returns, now to hand, show even a better result than the cablegrams led us to suppose, and the general statement attached hereto gives a full account of the various lots and actual results from each.

Briefly summed up, the necessary precautions to be observed to ensure success are to be found in the previous notice on the subject, at page 716, of the October Gazette, and, as there explained, the whole of the work of grading and packing could, with care, be done in the orchard.

The fruit should be cut when fully matured and coloured, but not overripe, and the greatest care must be exercised in culling and grading, so that every case will contain exactly the same sized and equally coloured fruit. Two grades might with advantage be made, i.e., 3-inch and 24-inch diameters. Nothing under the latter size should be packed. Fruit in any way damaged by parasites, thorn-pricks, frost-bite, or otherwise, must be rigidly excluded, as well as any which have been in the least degree bruised. A fall of even 2 feet will render an orange quite unfit for packing.

The sweating process is also imperatively necessary to prevent damage in packing, by giving the necessary toughness and elasticity to the skin.

The same necessity exists for tight packing, and no injury will result from a good steady squeeze after the fruit is properly matured. A perfectly safe limit is to allow half the diameter of the top layer of fruit to project over the top of the case; then leave the case open for an hour or two, and press the lid firmly and steadily into position when nailing on. Loose packing, by allowing the fruit to shake about, is responsible for most of the damage occurring in transit.

The system of cool storage adopted in this instance solves at once the difficulty of long-distance shipping, and, as will be seen from the letters of the Agent-General and the salesmen, we have the British market practically to ourselves from August to October, so that oranges sent from here under proper conditions between the middle of June and the beginning of September are likely to meet a ready and remunerative sale.

The Board, with the sanction of the Government, hopes to have such freight arrangements made for the coming season as will allow a weekly despatch of from 2,000 to 5,000 cases, according to requirements. Orange growers should bear this in mind for next season, and notify the Board of their probable shipments in good time to allow all preparations to be made. It is difficult to arrive at any corrrect estimate as to the actual returns from our orangeries, as only the fruit known to be marketed seems to have been included in our statistics. However, it may perhaps be within the mark to estimate that, from an orchard in good bearing, an average of two and a half cases per tree per annum should be obtained, and that ninety trees per acre will represent the average plantation.

Allowing twenty-five cases per acre for the extra culling required for this purpose, we have (say) 200 cases per acre fit for export. Even should the nett returns equal only 5s. per case-and there is no reason why this should not be exceeded-the returns from an acre would be, in round figures, £50 sterling per annum. This estimate, which may look too good to be true, is by no means an exaggerated one, but it must be borne in mind that to attain to such returns there must be no slipshod cultivation allowed. The trees must be treated with something like generosity in the matter of cultivation and manuring, and not left, like milestones, to look after themselves after they are once planted. Insect and fungus pests must be exterminated, and the trees must be kept in vigorous health, and fed with as much care as you would feed a milch cow, which no one would expect to give a good return if left in a stall all the year round and given nothing to eat.

The northern districts of the Colony, especially, where oranges thrive like weeds, have before them a splendid future, if people would but look on fruit-growing as a business, and give the same attention to it as they would bestow on any other industry.

The Government has now shown what can be done under proper conditions, and it rests with the growers themselves to take advantage of the object-lesson.

Sir,

[Copy of letter from Agent-General.]

Westminster Chambers, 9, Victoria-street, Westminster, S. W.,

66

2 October, 1896.

I have the honor to inform you, in reference to your letter of the 17th August last, advising me of the transmission to London per s.s. Ophir" of 1,740 cases of oranges, that the consignment duly arrived, and the oranges were sold at Monument Yard, London Bridge, on Wednesday last, the 30th ultimo.

I obtained the insertion in the newspapers of notices regarding this experimental shipment, which I placed for sale in the hands of Messrs. Keeling and Hunt, leading fruitbrokers in London, having previously had a knowledge of these gentlemen, as in 1886 they kindly furnished me with a full report of the orange trade for the information of your Government, and gave me three cases of Valencia oranges to send to the Colony as a guide to the mode of packing the fruit. The sale was considered a great success, and, as I informed you in my telegram of the 30th ultimo, realised an average price of about 14s. per case.

The fruit arrived in excellent condition, and the No. 1 grade was much approved, and considered equal to any oranges coming to this market. The letter I enclose from Messrs. Keeling and Hunt will give full particulars as to the condition of the fruit on its arrival, and their opinion with regard to the packing, &c., and I beg to direct your special attention to their practical suggestions in this regard for future guidance.

I am pleased to say that a considerable amount of interest has been evinced in regard to this shipment; arriving, as it did, at a time when the English market is very barely supplied with such fruit from any other country, the sale, on the whole, has been particularly satisfactory.

I have little doubt that a good market can be secured at this period of the year if the fruit offered is of good quality.

One fault of this shipment was its unevenness. Care should be taken, if possible, in large shipments, to have the fruit of the very best quality; the mixture of inferior sorts tends to lessen competition and injures the market.

I enclose for your information some of the newspaper comments which have appeared, together with fifty copies of the auction sale, giving the prices realised for each kind of

orange.

I have just received from Messrs. Keeling and Hunt the account sales, which I enclose herein, showing nett proceeds of £1,111 15s. 2d., for which I have their cheque, which I will pay to the credit of the public account of the Government at the London and Westminster Bank. I have, &c.,

The Hon. the Minister for Mines and Agriculture, Sydney.

[Copy of letter from Messrs. Keeling and Hunt.]

SAUL SAMUEL.

Monument Buildings, Monument-square, London, E.C., 1 October, 1896.

The Hon. Sir Saul Samuel, K.C.M.G., C.B., Agent-General for New South Wales,— Dear Sir,

We beg to inform you that we landed the oranges ex “Ophir” in very good condition with very few exceptions.

The fruit carried in the refrigerators was fresh and full, some rather cold, with here and there a little waste.

Fifteen boxes were brought over in the hold. The five boxes marked "S.M. Cay." were fairly fresh; five marked "Parker" were rather stale, spotted and flabby, and five marked "Pumice were very stale, flabby, and bad. We condemn this style of packing. Quality.-Good, especially the No. 1, which were excellent. The Nos. 2 and 3 of each mark showed very little difference. The prices realised give the best idea of our buyers' appreciation of the fruit.

Packing.-Good generally. We always recommend the use avoiding any soft shavings, sand, pumice dust, or other packing. and firmly packed in the white paper only looked very nice when spoils their appearance.

of tissue paper only, Those that were well opened-any addition

Boxes are very good, allowing a free circulation of air. Freight is very high, viz. :—4s. Id. per box, as compared with an average of 1s. 3d., sometimes 1s. 6d. per case for Valencia oranges. These latter cases are nearly three times the size of the Australians, and weigh from 1 cwt. 1 qr. to 1 cwt. 2 qr. gross.

The voyage from Valencia occupies from nine to ten days, and the oranges are loaded in ordinary steamers as general cargo.

Time.-In our opinion, the best time for Australian oranges to come upon this market is from the beginning of August to the middle of October, when supplies from other

sources are scarce.

Denia and Valencia oranges form our chief supply, commencing end of October and lasting till end of June, sometimes going into July. Last season from this district, London received 888,725 cases.

*