New York Agricultural Experiment Station. J 55 



The free space between the rows will aleo vary with the age of 

 the bed. 



The mixture should strike the plant from all directions at the 

 same time without having the jets of spray conflict. Theoretic- 

 ally with a machine which would stop an instant at each plant, 

 this could be done by the employment of five nozzles to a row, 

 but in a moving machine the resultant direction of the jots of 

 spray requires the use of ten nozzles for efficient seryice. Later 

 it was found necessary to use twelve nozzles to a row, especially 

 on full grown, vigorous beds. 



In addition to being adjustable it was desirable to be able to 

 elevate the nozzles from between the rows when turning around 

 at the end. It was found that thrifty plants, in rows six feet 

 apart, nearly covered the ground, hence it was essential to devise 

 a means for lifting the asparagus before the spray reached it. 

 This was necessary, not only in order to do the work thoroughly, 

 but also to prevent tearing the nozzles from their carriers. 



With all these conditions to be met the machine descTibed and 

 illustrated in the following pages was designed and built. As 

 spraying may prove to be an aid to many growers in preventing 

 the asparagus rust, the following detailed description of the 

 machine and its parts is given, with notes upon some of the weak 

 points and suggestions for remedying them. The machine is not 

 patented and it is hoped that growers may make use of the ideas 

 and suggestions in the construction of machines of less cost, thus 

 lowering the expense of spraying. 



DESCRIPTION. 

 THE TRUCK. 



Several conditions had to be met in constructing a truck. The 

 height required to clear the asparagus is one factor. At first it 

 was thought that this could be disregarded by constructing a 

 narrow-tread machine which would go between the rows, but 

 such a machine would be difficult to get through the rows of full 

 grown asparagus, and could carry only a small weight of liquid. 

 These considerations led to the abandonment of this scheme. The 

 desirability of carrying a large amount of liquid, and the neces- 



