-19° Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [lo Mar., 191 i. 



Earlier in the season, I iiad visited an orchard in the Healesvilla 

 <iistrict, under the management of Mr. T. H. Grant. This had been 

 ;sprayed once with the Bordeaux mixture according to the formula 6.4.40, 

 just before the blossoms had separated, and neither the leaves nor fruit 

 .showed signs of disease. That this freedom from disease was due to the 

 .spraying and not to favourable weather conditions was abundantly evident in 

 a neighbouring orchard where the trees were unsprayed. The black spot 

 was not only conspicuous on the leaves and fruit, but even on the young 

 twigs and the cracked and distorted apples could not possiblv be worse 



(Fig. 5)- 



Such examples as I have given (and they could be multiplied) .show 

 that spraying prevents the development of black spot, even in a favourable 

 ;5.eason. 



While the efficacy of Bordeaux mixture as a fungicide has been 

 thoroughly established in practice, the result of recent investigations, as 

 to its composition and mode of action, has shown that there are improved 

 forms of it. In Italy, for a quarter of a centurv, the mixture has been 

 prepared with lime-water instead of milk of lime and this requires much 

 less of the copper sulphate than the ordinary form, to produce the same 

 results. This Italian Bordeaux may also be concentrated in the form of 

 a paste which mixes readilv and perfectly with water. The advantages 

 •of using a Bordeaux paste are evident. Not only is there a saving of time 

 to the grower in the mixing, and a solution provided without lime particles 

 to clog the nozzle of the sprayer, but with little dams over the orchard, 

 the spraying could be done much more expeditiously. The Copper-soda 

 •spray, in which washing soda takes the place of the lime in the ordinary 

 Bordeaux, will also' require to be tested as to its effect on the leaves of 

 different varieties, as compared with the other, and during the next spraying 

 season experiments will be carried out in the orchard to determine the 

 ■cheapest, most effective, most easily prepared and applied form of spray 

 to be used as a fungicide. 



A RECORD SHIPMENT OF PEARS. 



/. G. Turner, Senior Inspector, Fruit Exports and Imports. 



The departure of the s.s. Somerset from Williamstown on 14th Feb- 

 ruary last marked an epoch in the oversea export of fruit, and was par- 

 ticularly interesting to all concerned in the industry for several reasons, 

 the chief of which are as follows : — 



1. It is the first attempt that has been made, on a large scale, to 



ship fruit under conditions approaching those which experi- 

 ments here, and in other countries, have proved to be the 

 most suitable for successfully transporting fruits over long 

 distances. 



2. The consignment comprises the largest quantity of pears which 



has ever left the State in one vessel. 



3. The variety of pear which has been shipped, and which is vari- 



ously known as Williams' Bon Chretien, the Bartlett fr 

 Duchess pear, is one of the earliest pears to mature. Al- 

 though, in point of flavour, it is one of the best grown, it 

 has not been previously shipped in large quantities by reason 

 of its poor keeping qualities under normal conditions. 



