72 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



for this purpose to fiirnisli it to the different farmers? I think it wouhl 

 be a good idea for tlie Board to consider. 



Prof. Patten — T liave had in mind to get hold of all the samples of 

 lime that are burned and also samples of all the lime that is sold in the 

 state in auy great quantities in order to make an analysis of them. 

 However, up to the present time we have been unable to take up this 

 work. I think I shall try to do it before very long so we may be able 

 to publish the analyses of all' the lime samples that are sold in the 

 state. 



Q. How long should the concentrated home made article be cooked 

 and will too long cooking cause more sludge? 



Prof. Patten — Forty to forty-five minutes in our exi^erience seemed 

 to bring as much sulphur in the solution as you can get by boiling it 

 for an hour or even for two hours. The longer cooking will not make 

 any more sludge. It will change the composition of the lime solution 

 which is already in solution and give you more of the sulphur which 

 is of no ]>ractical value for spraying purposes. It will reduce the 

 amount of sulphur in the form of sulphide and give you a higher 

 amount of sulphur in the form of sulphite or sulphate. 



Q. Then you do think that excessive cooking is detrimental? 



Prof. Patten — Yes, after 45 minutes it is simply a change in the forms 

 of sulphur which are already in solution. 



Q. Did you ever use distilled water and would it make any dif- 

 ference? 



Prof. Patten — No sir. 



COMMERCIAL INSECTICIDES AND THEIR CONTROL. 



(by prof. l. r. taft.) 



During the last day or two you have been discussing the matter of 

 spraying for the control of various insects and diseases, and although 

 the results have as a whole been satisfactory, some have reported that 

 however thoroughly they sprayed they could not protect their fruit 

 from attack. In many cases the trouble was undoubtedly due to lack 

 of thoroughness in spraying, or perhaps to the use of unsuitable spray- 

 ing materials, or to doing the s]>raying at the wrong time, but many 

 of you have probabl}^ come to the conclusion that a part of the diffi- 

 culty at least has come from the fact that the chemicals used had 

 been adulterated, or were not up to the proper standard. 



In the early days of spraying when but one of two materials such 

 as Paris green and London purple were used, this was often the case, 

 as the manufacturers taking advantage of the lack of control of legisla- 

 tion, and the fact that no one was watching them, perpetrated the 

 most bare-faced frauds, and sold to unsuspecting farmers and fruit 

 growers Paris green Avhich contained only the merest trace of arsenic 

 oxide, which resulted in enormous losses to the crops. 



Later on, Bordeaux mixture came into use and soon this was on the 

 market in a ready prepared form and at a price which made the cost if 



