Sprays and Spraying. 73 



Slake the lime, mix the sulphur into a thin fiaste with a little 

 water, add it to the lime, add sulTieicnt water to make sixty gallons; 

 bring to a boil and boil vigoronsb- for an hour. The sediment is 

 then allowed to settle, after which the clear, dark, amber-colored 

 lifjuid is dra\\Ti off and may be stored in casks for future use. 



Every grower who expects to prepare his own spray by the stock 

 solution method should provide himself with a Beaume's acid scale 

 hydrometer. Such an instrument, which sliould not cost over $1, 

 furnishes a very simple and convenient method of testing the 

 strength of the solution. A "stock"" solution prepared as al)Ove 

 described should test noteless than 2(5 and might test 30 upon such 

 a scale. Should it test 2(1 it may be diluted at the rate of one 

 gallon to ten gallons of water for winter spraying; should it test 

 30. twelve instead of ten gallons of water may be used. Further 

 experiments are necessary to determine at what strength such solu- 

 tions may be safely used upon various trees in foliage, but the 

 experience of the past two seasons indicates that one to twenty 

 may be safely used upon the apple and other hardy plants. Upon 

 the peach the dilution should probably be somewhat greater. These 

 dilutions for summer spraying apply only to stock solutions which 

 are prepared according to the above directions. The various com- 

 mercial lime-sulphur sprays I have not tested for summer use. 



While the above three sprays are the only ones generally used in 

 orchard practice in this State, other sprays are occasionally needed, 

 principally for destroying such insects as the various plant-lice. 

 ap[jle-tingis, etc. For this purpose there is probably nothing better 

 than kerosene oil emulsion. 



KEROSENE EMULSION. 



Kerosene oil, or coal oil. is a powerful insecticide. The undi- 

 luted oil is, however, liable to seriously injure plants to which it is 

 applied. This difficulty is overcome hy using one of the special 

 spray pumps which have Ijeen devised for the purpose of mixing 

 the oil with water in any desired proportion ; or by forming an 

 emulsion with some substance that may be readily diluted with 

 water. Soap is most commonly used for this purpose, as follows: 



Kerosene oil 2 gallons 



Hard soap (preferably whale-oil) ',4 pound 



Water 1 gallon 



Dissolve the soap in the water bv boiling. Add the suds, boiling 

 hot, to the oil. Churn the mixture violently with a spray pump 

 until it becomes a thick, creamv mass. Tf perfectly emulsified, 

 the oil will not rise to the surface even after standing an indefmite 

 time. Such an ciiinlsinn mav be used immcdiatelv or may be kept as a 

 stock mixture. Before using dilute one part of the stock emulsion 

 with ten to fifteen parts of water. 



This will be found to be an efficient remedy for green aphis, 

 woollv a])his, red spider, mealy bugs and certain scale insects. 



