A young Orange Orchard, Woombye District.
No fruits are more generally distributed or have a wider range in this State than those of the Citrus family, as, with the exception of the colder parts of the Downs, where the winter temperature is too low, the Gulf country, and the dry Western districts, where there is no water available for irrigation, they can be grown from one end of the State to the other, provided that they are planted in suitable soil, and that, in the drier parts, there is an available supply of suitable water with which to irrigate them during the prevalence of long dry spells. The country adjoining the eastern seaboard, extending from the Tweed River in the South to Cooktown in the North—a distance of about 1,100 miles, and extending inland for nearly 100 miles—is naturally suited to the growth of citrus fruits, and there is probably no country in the world that is better adapted to, or that can produce the various kinds of these fruits to greater perfection or with less trouble, than this portion of Queensland. Of course, the whole of this large area is not adapted for citrus culture, as it contains many different kinds of soils, several of which are not suitable for the growth of these fruits, and there is also a large extent of country which is too broken and otherwise unsuitable. At the same time there are hundreds of thousands of acres of land in this area in which the soil and natural conditions are eminently suited to the growth of citrus fruit, and in which the tenderest varieties of these fruits may be grown to perfection without the slightest chance of their being injured by frost; and where the natural rainfall is such that, provided the trees receive ordinary care and cultivation, there is seldom any necessity for artificial irrigation. At the present time there are hundreds of citrus trees growing practically wild in different parts of the coastal country that are in vigorous health and producing heavy crops of good fruit, even though they are uncultivated, unpruned, unmanured, and have to hold their own against a vigorous growth of native and introduced shrubs, trees, and weeds. When the orange, lime, citron, or common lemon become established under conditions that are favourable for their proper development, they apparently become as hardy as the indigenous plants, and are able to hold their own against them, thus showing how well the climate and suitable soils of coastal Queensland are adapted for the cultivation of citrus fruits. The commercial cultivation of citrus fruits is at present practically confined to this coastal area, the most important centres, starting from the South, being Nerang, Coomera, Redland Bay, Brisbane, Enoggera, Gatton, Grantham, Toowoomba, North Coast line from North Pine to Gympie including the Blackall Range and Buderim Mountain; the Wide Bay district, including Maryborough, Tiaro, Mount Bauple, Gayndah, Pialba, and Burrum; the Burnett district, including Bundaberg and Mullet Creek; the Fitzroy district, including Rockhampton and Yeppoon; Bowen, Cardwell, Murray River, Tully River, Cairns and district, Port Douglas, and Cooktown. In addition to these districts a few citrus fruits are grown at Mackay, Townsville, and several other places. Citrus fruits are also grown further inland, but their cultivation here is largely dependent on the ability to supply the trees with suitable water for irrigation during dry spells. Frosts have also to be taken into consideration, for, though the days are warm, the temperature often falls considerably during the night, owing to the great radiation, and citrus-trees in districts like Roma, Emerald, &c., are liable to injury thereby. West of Emerald, at Bogantungan, Barcaldine, and other places, citrus fruits do very well with irrigation. Some of the finest lemons, Washington Navel, and other improved varieties of oranges are grown here to perfection, the lemons especially being of high quality, and curing down equal to the imported Italian or Californian article. The soil in many of the inland districts is well suited to the culture of citrus fruits, and when the trees are given the necessary water, and are uninjured by frost, they produce excellent fruit. I stated, some short distance back, that there is probably no country in the world that is better adapted to the cultivation of or that can produce the various kinds of citrus fruits to greater perfection or with less trouble than the eastern seaboard of Queensland. To many of my readers this may seem to be a very broad statement; but I am certain that, if suitable trees are planted in the right soil and under favourable conditions, and are given anything like the same care and attention that is devoted to the culture of citrus fruits in the great producing centres for these fruits in other parts of the world, we have nothing to fear either as regards the cost of production or the quality of the fruit produced. In order to exemplify this, it may be interesting to compare our capabilities with those of the principal citrus-producing districts north of the equator. To begin with, I will take Florida, which more nearly approaches our climatic conditions than any other citrus-growing country that I know of, and which is noted for the excellence of its citrus fruit, and we find that we have all its advantages except that of proximity to the world's markets, without its disadvantages. We have a better and richer soil, requiring far less expensive artificial fertilisers to maintain its fertility, and at a very much lower price. We can grow equally as good fruit; in fact, it is questionable if Florida ever produced a citrus fruit equal in quality to the Beauty of Glen Retreat Mandarin, a Queensland production. We get as heavy, if not heavier, crops, and our trees come into bearing very early. We have no freeze-outs similar to those which have crippled the industry in Florida so severely in the past that many of their wealthy growers are actually covering in whole orchards of many acres in extent as a protection from frost. This covering-in is accomplished by means of a framework of timber having slat-work or panel sides and tops—in fact, by enclosing their orchards in a huge elaborate bush-house, which is further protected by the heat produced by six large heating stoves or salamanders to each acre of trees enclosed. If it pays the Florida growers to go to all this expense in order to prevent freeze-outs and to produce first-class fruit, surely we can compete with them when a seed stuck in the right soil under favourable conditions will produce a strong, vigorous, healthy tree, bearing good crops without any attention whatever.
An Orange Orchard, near Woombye.
Orange Trophy in the Moreton District Exhibit at the Brisbane Exhibition.
In comparing Queensland with the citrus-producing districts of Southern Europe, we have the advantage of better and cheaper land, absence of frost, more vigorous growth, earlier maturity of the trees, and superior fruit; but with the advantage of cheaper and more skilful labour, especially in the handling and marketing of fruit, and proximity to the world's markets in their favour.
As compared with California, our soil is no better than theirs, but it costs much less, and their citrus industry is dependent on artificial irrigation, their natural rainfall being altogether inadequate for the growth of citrus fruits. Californian conditions more nearly approach those of our inland districts, such as Barcaldine, with the exception that the only rainfall in California is during the winter, whereas in Barcaldine and similar districts the heaviest fall is during the summer months, but, in both, the successful culture of these fruits depends on irrigation.