11 March. 1918. | 



inei/ard Spraying. 



153 



This facility of adjustment to suit varying requirements is very neces- 

 sary; it is evident tliat an arrangement of nozzles wliicli would be satis- 

 factory in October, when tlie vine slioots are about 12 to 18 inches long, 

 \vould be quite unsuitable after Christmas. 



French machines are unobtainable in Australia at present, nor does 

 there appear to be any chance of importing them for the coming spray- 

 ing campaign, Avhicli will commence in October. Victorian machinery 

 firms, however, are coming to the rescue, and there is every reason to 

 believe that locally-made machines will be available in due time, so 

 devised as to present the advantages possessed by the Perras and other 

 up-to-date French makes. Local firms already turn oi;t excellent potato 

 sprayers ; Avith a few modifications in the directions suggested above, 

 these can, no doubt, be made suitable for vineyard work. Excellent 

 machines of all the types dealt with in this article — from knapsack to 

 motor-driven — are now largely manufactured in America. Several 

 American firms are interesting themselves in the question and arrang- 

 ing to supply outfits in good time for the coming October campaign. 



Fig. 18. — Perras machine, showing nozzle supports folded for transit. 



Power Speay Pumps. 



These are coming more and more into general favour witli 

 orchardists, to whom, in view of the intermittent progress of the spray 

 outfit, wheel-driven pumps are useless. A small motor (oil or petrol) 

 advantageously replaces the man who operated the pump with the older 

 outfit. The high pressure which can be easily maintained in several 

 nozzles at a time insures a thoroughly efficient spray, and permits of 

 several trees being treated simultaneously. 



A motor-driven outfit for the spraying of potatoes is shown in Fig. 

 20. Is the motor-driven pump likely to be also adopted by vine- 

 growers? In other words, is it destined to displace the wheel-driven 

 machine described above? Time alone will tell. In some directions the 

 motor pump a])pears to promise advantages. The draught of the spray- 

 ing machine, for example, will be lighter if the wheels no longer have 

 to operate the pump. Such lighter draught would prove a boon when the 



