New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 227 



Bordeaux mixture. — There are several different formulas for 

 making Bordeaux mixture, any one of which will no doubt give 

 excellent results if the directions are closely followed. The for- 

 mula given below has been used at this Station for the past five 

 years, and it is also generally used by the fruit growers of this 

 vicinity. In no case has it proven unreliable, so we do not hesi- 

 tate to recommend it as being one of the best and certainly the 

 quickest method by which Bordeaux mixtuie can be made. Much 

 has been written of late for and against the practice of using 

 the potassium ferrocyanide test for determining the amount of 

 lime to be used, and many nice points have been brought forth 

 as to just how this test should be applied. We still adhere to 

 the common method of applying it, as we have always found it 

 reliable: 



Formula. — Copper sulphate 4 lbs. 



Lime 3 lbs. 



Water 45 gals. 



Dissolve the copper sulphate in hot water or by suspending 

 in a coarse cloth or bag in a considerable amount of cold water, 

 so that the sulphate is just covered. It will not all dissolve if 

 placed in the bottom of a vessel of cold water. When dissolved 

 dilute the solution to two-thirds of the required amount. Kext 

 slake the lime and add it to the solution in the form of a thin 

 whitewash — the thinner the better. Strain it if necessary to 

 keep out particles that would clog the nozzle. The mixture 

 should be thoroughly stirred while the lime is being added. It 

 is essential that the copper solution should be quite dilute before 

 the lime is added, otherwise a heavy precipitate is formed. 



Weighing the lime. — It is easy to see that the weighing and 

 slaking of the required amount of lime each time a barrel full 

 of the mixture is to be made will require a considerable amount 

 of time in the course of a day, which at this busy season is quite 

 an item. By using the color test the necessity of weighing the 

 lime is done away with and enough lime may be slaked at one 

 time to last through the season. A convenient way to keep the 

 lime is to slake it in a barrel that is partially sunk in the ground, 



