678 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [11 Nov., 1918. 



comes into commerce, is a very finely divided white powder, and if 

 properly prepared contains no unhydrated particles of lime. For 

 tliis reason, it is preferable to common lime paste or putty for use 

 witli Portland cement, because, if properly manufactured, it is more 

 thoroughly slaked, and is easily handled and measured."* 

 It is claimed that, if properly prepared, it is very slowly carbonated on 

 exposure to air. 



Though hydra ted lime does not appear to have as yet been used 

 for preparing Bordeaux mixture, it should prove very suitable for the 

 purpose, though the cost would, of course, be somewhat higher than 

 when using quicklime as previously described. 



Admitting it to consist entirely of pure slaked lime or calcium 

 hydroxide (Ca H2O2) with no surplus water, 135 lbs. would be equiva- 

 lent to 100 lbs. of pure quicklime; in other words, in order to obtain a 

 '' Bordeaux " just barely alkaline, instead of taking 2^ lbs. to neutralize 

 10 lbs. of bluestone, 3.04 lbs. would be required. This could easily be 

 measured instead of being weighed. 



Being in a quite impalpable powder, it could be directly mixed in 

 to the 50 gallons of copper sulphate solution, to which it should he 

 added in small quantities at a time with very thorough stirring. It 

 might also be mixed in a bucketful or so of water to form a milk, to 

 be used as previously indicated. 



A sample of hydrated lime, manufactured by a Sydney firm, was 

 recently brought under the notice of the writer which appeared to be 

 very suitable for the making of Bordeaux mixture. It is a matter for 

 vine^growers to decide whether the greater convenience would justify the 

 increased cost. The price of the h.ydrated lime above referred to was 

 £20 per ton. Specially selected quicklime in tins costs a little under £12 

 per ton, and one ton is equivalent to 27 cwt. of hydrated lime. Ordinary 

 quicklime is cheaper still, and if freshly burnt and carefully used a 

 thoroughly satisfactory Bordeaux will result. 



* Taylor & Thompson ; Concrete, Plain and Reinforced (1917), p. 47. 



(To be contimied.) 



A FEW of the best varieties ol fruits were raised by scientific cross- 

 breeding, but many standard kinds were the result of accident. Cox's 

 Orange Pippin, a leading dessert apple, was raised by a Bermondsey 

 brewer in his garden at Slough, England, where he had merely sown 

 apple pips. Blenheim Pippin was " discovered " in the garden of one 

 Kempter, a labouring man, who lived at Woodstock, Oxfordshire, more 

 than a century and a half ago. Doyenne du Comice pear was raised in 

 the garden of the Comice Horticole, at Angers, the original tree first 

 fruiting in 1849, so that this delicious pear, one of the very best in 

 cultivation, may be a case in which the seeding resulted from artificial 

 crossing. But the choicest grape of all, the Muscat of Alexandria, is 

 believed to have come from the East several centuries ago, when artificial 

 crossing as a means of raising new varieties can hardly have been prac- 

 tised in Eastern vineyards. For similar reasons, the best apricot, 

 MooTpark, must also be attributed to circumstances other than deliberate 

 cross-breeding. 



