Jan. ^z, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 35 



plant food materials are washed into the soil and largely fixed there. To put 

 this system into practice only involves the use of subdivision, or smaller 

 paddocks instead of the one or two large cultivation paddocks that are 

 usually found, and this would also naturally lead to definite rotation systems 

 being adopted. On farms where this system is followed, both farms and 

 farmers have become enriched as a direct result, while the risk of failure of 

 both pasture and crops during drought has been minimised. 



(To be continued.) 



Suggested Variation in Spray Formula. 



Desiring to use the resin and oil spray recommended by the Department 

 for citrus scale, and hearing locally that the fish oil might be omitted from 

 the formula without diminishing its value, a Leeton orchardist addressed 

 the following questions to the Under Secretary and Director : — (1) May the 

 oil be omitted; (2) will an addition of resin or coconut oil or tallow make 

 as effective a spray ; (3) if so, how much more coconut oil, tallow or resin 

 must be added to take up caustic; and (4) may the wash be a little caustic? 



The correspondent was replied to as follows : — The oil may be omitted, 

 but recent tests have proved that when the 3 pints of oil (or 4 lb. of common 

 soap in place of the oil) were included more satisfactory results were obtained 

 than in cases where resin and soda only were used. Regarding the addition 

 of tallow or coconut oil, it is thought that this would probably be satis- 

 factory, but such has not been actually tried by this Department. As 

 already indicated, how^ever, the substitution of 4 lb. of soap for 3 pints of 

 fish oil has given equally good results. Two pints and 4 fluid ounces (or 

 2-54 lb.) of coconut oil, or 3-25 lb. of tallow, would be equivalent to the 

 3 pints of fish oil prescribed in the original formula. 



Concerning the final query, it may be pointed out that, as a matter of 

 fact, the wash according to this Department's formula is caustic, as an 

 excess of soda is allowed for in view^ of the fact that resins vary in the quantity 

 of soda necessary to emulsify them. Such excess, however, is not sufficient to 

 harm trees, and is probably helpful in dealing with such scales as " white 

 wax." 



The Fruit Expert states that he has reason to believe that there is a risk 

 in having an excess of resin, as, in trying out a formula lately in which the 

 soda was insufiicient to emulsify the resin, severe burning of foliage and 

 wood resulted. When the total amount of oil is so small, probably the free 

 oil would not prove very harmful, though it should be remembered that 

 " free oil " means " waste oil." , 



So far as co-operative methods and principles apply to the marketing of 

 fruit, the major causes of failure are — first, lack of a keen realisation by the 

 members of the need of organisation ; second, disloyalty to the association ; 

 and third, the absence of salesmanship ability in the management. — 

 C. W. Baxter, Fruit Commissioner, in the Agricultural Gazette of Canada. 



