IRISH GARDENING 



55 



water is used in its preparation — i.e., 5 lbs. of 

 soft-soap per 100 gallons of wash. 



New Stock Solution. — It is thought advis- 

 able, for practical reasons, to place on retord now 

 a new method of making this fungicide ^^hich 

 makes it possible to jjrepare a more higlily con- 

 centrated "stock solution" than the one pre- 

 viously described. After numerous preparations 

 had been made, in which varying amounts of 

 sulphur \\ ere dissolved and the fungicidal value 

 of these several preparations had been ascertained 

 by delicate biological tests, evidence w as obtained 

 that a stock solution of ammoniuur sulphide, pre- 

 pared as described below, is as efficacious when 

 dUuted to 1 part in 100 parts as is the stock 

 solution described last year when diluted to 1 part 

 in 20 parts. Besides being more easily handled 

 by reason of its more concentrated form, there is 

 every reason to believe that when made according 

 to the new formula, the ammonium sulphide 

 wash will now be 

 procurable on the 

 market at a chea- 

 per rate. 



Preparation of 

 THE New Stock 

 Solution. — The 

 preparation of the 

 new concentrated 

 stock solution may 

 be convenientl>' ef- 

 fected by saturat- 

 ing one-third of a 

 gallon (1..53 litres) 

 of aqueous am- 

 monia of sp. gr. 

 0.895 at 16° C— 

 i.e., 30 per cent. — 

 with sulphuretted 

 hydrogen gas until 

 the sp. gr. of the 

 liquid becomes 

 equal to 1.075 and 

 its volume 1.55 

 litres. It is then 

 mixed with two- 

 thirds of a gallon 

 (3.06 litres) of 30 

 per cent, aninaonia 



solution, and to this mixture 2 lbs. 7 ozs. 

 (1,101 grms.) of flowers of svilphur are added and 

 dissolved by stirring. A moderately slow cui'rent 

 of sulphurretted hydrogen gas is again passed 

 through the clear solution until its sp. gr. becomes 

 1.085 at 16° C. Owing to the increase in the 

 volunie of the liquid which takes place during 

 the preparation, more than 1 gal. — namely, 

 slightly more than 5 litres of the concentrated 

 stock solution — is finally obtained. 



It ivill be obvious jrom the above description 

 that the stock soli(tio)> oj ammonium sulphide is 

 not one ivhich can be prepared by the groiver him- 

 self. Further, since this stock solution cannot in 

 practice be tested by the grower, it should be pur- 

 chased only from firm,s of repute who will vouch 

 that it Jias been prepared according to the method 

 described above. 



Dilution. — To prepare the diluted wash froni 

 the above stock solution, in the case where the 

 water used is " soft," 5 Itis. of soft soap of a 

 reliable brand should be dissolved in 99 gallons 

 of water, and into this quantity of soap solution 



1 gallon of the stock solution of ammonium 

 sulphide should be mixed by stirring. In this 

 manner 100 gallons of wa.sh are prepared ready 

 for use. In cases where the water used is " hard " 

 a proportional increase must be made in the 

 amount of soap used unless other means are 

 adopted for softening the water. 



With regard to the method of applying this 

 wash and other details, also the relative values of 

 ammonium sulphide and lime-sulphur, reference 

 should be made to this Journal for February, 

 1916. — The Journal of the Board of Agriculture. 



Pfwto by] 



Correspondence. 



TO THE EDITOR OF IRISH CiARDENINC!. 



Sir, — The winter which is now passing away 

 appears to have been the most destructive to 

 vegetation in Ireland which we have experienced 



since that of 1878- 

 79. .Judging from 

 r e p o r t s rec ei ve d 

 from many parts 

 of Ireland, the 

 nature and extciit 

 of the damage 

 done has been er- 

 ratic and variable, 

 which can to some 

 extent be account- 

 ed for by the dif- 

 ferences in the 

 amounts of rain- 

 fall, and of frost, 

 that is by the ex- 

 tent of the vari- 

 ation from the 

 annual avei'ages of 

 the district. In 

 the County Dublin 

 the variation has 

 been extreme. 

 1916 was the wet- 

 test year recorded 

 for this district, the 

 rainfall amounting 

 to 40.88 inches, 

 January, April and 

 July being the only comparatively dry months out 

 of the twelve. It was also a vei-y sunless year, so 

 that vegetation was ill-prepared for the almost arc- 

 tic conditions which prevailed for so long. As com- 

 pared with the winter of 1878-79 some curious 

 and interesting facts are noted. In that winter 

 Arbutus Unedo and other species, Myrtles, 

 Aristotelia, Laurels, Portugal Laurels, Sweet Bay, 

 and Laiu-estinus, were very severely in.iur<-d. This 

 year they are comparatively uninjured. Hima- 

 layan Rhododendrons, such as E. Thompson!, 

 R. grande, E. Falconeri, R. fulgeias, also suffered 

 severely : this year they have escaped. Veronicas, 

 on the other hand, seem to have suffered more 

 this winter. There are many interesting features. 

 Griselinia has proved to be quite hardy. In 

 Pittosporums, P. Ralphi and P. tenuifolium have 

 not suffered much, but P. Mayi is completely 

 defoliated. A plant which we had come to regard 

 as comparatively hardy, :Myrtus Luma (Eugema 

 apiculata), is injured, while Trie uspidaria lane e- 

 olata (Crinodendron Hookeriaxium ) is fairly sate. 

 Grevillea rosmarinifolia and G. sulphurea have 



Primula dexticulata 



Arranged in a bowl. 



[S. /!o!e 



