98 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mr. Munson: I spray, first before they blossom, and perhaps twice 

 afterwards, with an interval of ten days between. 



Mr. Rice: Have you had any experience in killing the lice on tur- 

 nips? Some of our people have tried everything, and had to give up the 

 fight. 



Prof. Taft: It is one of the hardest things we have to kill. I don't 

 know of any way to do it to advantage. Kerosene will do it, but they are 

 under the leaves, and it is troublesome to reach them all. I don't know 

 anything better, however. 



Q: What of arsenite of lime for spraying? 



Prof. Taft: The arsenite of lime is nothing new; it has been used for a 

 number of years, and while I am glad to speak of it, I want to put in a 

 word of caution as to handling it. It is so often taken for some of the 

 household chemicals. I saw only yesterday, how someone took some 

 arsenic for baking powder. Be careful to label it, and have it colored in 

 some way, for it is an unsafe thing to have around. So far as using it is 

 concerned, this last year I took up the matter because I found there was 

 a trust controlling the Paris green, and the price was double what it 

 ought to be, and knowing that arsenic was cheaper, I went to work and 

 prepared a material that would not burn the foliage, was easier to apply, 

 and was inexpensive. In doing this, I took one pound of white arsenic, 

 put it with an equal or double weight of lime, put these in about eight 

 quarts of water, and boiled the mixture. P>e sure that the material is 

 dissolved. If it is not dissolved, there is danger of burning the foliage, 

 and until you have made one or two mixtures, I would advise you to try 

 it on a small scale. If properly dissolved, it is less harmless than Paris 

 green or London purple. It is about the same thing as the London 

 purple, without the purple, and you are more certain of getting a pure 

 article. We have in this case, about one-third pure arsenic ; if we have 

 equal parts of lime and arsenic, I would use a pound of arsenic to 200 gal- 

 lons of water. This is not injurious to the foliage, and is perfectly safe, 

 provided you have first dissolved the arsenic, and by using the lime with 

 it, it is easier to dissolve. If you want to be sure, you can test it by pur- 

 chasing at the drug store a little bottle of '*H2 S." — such as is used in the 

 laboratory. It has the oder of rotten eggs, and a drop of that in there, 

 will at once tell if it is properly dissolved. If you use that amount of 

 lime, and boil it half an hour, there is no great danger. It costs about 

 one-quarter as much as Paris green, and pound for pound is as effective. 



Q : I would like to know if the copper sulphate spraying, before a 

 peach bud starts, has any effect in preventing leaf curl. 



Prof. Taft: Indirectly; anything of that kind put on before the leaves 

 start will destroy the spores; the spores of this disease are around the 

 buds. But for leaf curl, I would spray again as soon as the blossoms had 

 fallen, with the Bordeaux mixture, although I think this first spraying is 

 worth one or two sprayings later. 



In regard to pears; the blight is troubling the pear trees in certain 

 localities, and it is thought that spraying would have an effect in lessen- 

 ing it, but we are not quite sure about that yet. The only thing I can 

 recommend, and of course you all know that, is to cut off the diseased 

 portions as soon as you see them, cutting a foot below where it appears, 

 and burning at once. 



Q: Have you had any experience in the cart sprayers? 



