PREPARATION OF THE SULPHUR SPRAYS. 159 



puiiipod from the truck tank into the spray tank in the orchard. 'I'he 

 brass strainer cloth employed by tinners in makinjr strainer pails is used 

 for this purpose. It is very necessary to strain well, as in the unstrained 

 spray there are always dregs that fill the nozzle and delay work. Mr. 

 Cutts says that in tanks of this kind it is necessary to stir the spray 

 frequently while boiling to thoroughly mix the different ingrcnlients. 

 Three hours' boiling is ])etter than two. He also says that one man, at 

 $3 per day, will tend the boiler and prepare from 1,500 to 2,000 gallons 

 of spray per day, and that it will require about one-half cord of 

 4-foot wood to generate the steam in such a boiler as he uses. 



In preparing the sulphur sprays for orchards containing 500 to 

 1,000 acres of trees it is desirable to have tanks of larger size than 

 those used by Mr. Cutts and to avoid as much pumping and trans- 

 ferring of the sprays as possible. One of the most convenient and 

 complete spray-cooking plants for orchards of large size which has 

 thus far been seen by the writer will here be described. This plant is 

 at the Rio Bonito orchard. The water for preparing sprays at this 

 orchard is. obtained from a well and is forced by means of a rotary 

 force pump run by steam power into a large storage tank elevated 

 upon a heavy framework some 30 feet above the ground. About 

 10 feet above the ground and at one corner of the open framework of 

 the tank house is placed a circular tank holding about 300 gallons. 

 This is a storage tank to receive the spray when prepared for the 

 orchard. The bottom of this circular tank is supplied with steam 

 pipes, so that the contents may be kept hot and ready for use. From 

 the outer side of this storage tank, near the bottom, is a discharge 

 pipe with valve and hose attached, through which the spray may be 

 run by gravity into the tops of the 300-gallon spray tanks on wagons 

 which are used in the orchard. These wagons are driven to the side of 

 the storage tank and filled with boiling spray in a few minutes, much 

 as street-sprinkling tanks are driven under the elevated hydrants and 

 filled. The boiling tank proper is built of 2-inch surfaced pine plank 

 within a firm framework, properly bolted, and rests firmly upon the 

 ground. It is situated within the heavy framework of the water tank 

 house. This boiling tank is approximately 18 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 

 3 feet deep, and its full, capacity is 1,200 gallons. In the center of the 

 tank house is a water pipe connected with the large water tank above. 

 Near the bottom of this standpipe are hydrants for the attachment of 

 hose, thus allowing of water being drawn directly from the water supply 

 above into the boiling tank by opening a hydrant. An unlimited supply 

 of cold water is thus always at hand without the necessity of lifting 

 a pailful by hand. The steam pipe for heating the sprays in the boil- 

 ing tank extends from end to end along the bottom within the wooden 

 tank, and every 2 or 3 feet along this pipe are cross pipes leading toward 

 each side of the tank. The ends of the central pipe and its branches 



