7-8 Journal of Agriculture. [lo Xov., 1910. 



plants, and only serve to cake and harden the soil, resulting in a still 

 further loss of soil water by capillary attraction. 



If not already planted out, all bedding and foliage plants should now 

 be in their places in the garden — included among these are begonias, salvias, 

 alternantheras, iresines, &c. ; while annuals for autumn flowering should 

 now be sown. 



All bulbs, corms, and tul)ers that have ripened their foliage, mav be 

 removed from the beds after the foliage has died, and stored in a cool 

 place until next season. Precaution should be taken against damp, which 

 will cause the bulbs to decay. 



Herbaceous plants, such as perennial phlox, delphiniums, campanula, 

 as well as gladioli will all be benefited considerablv bv liberal waterings 

 of liquid manure, or by mulching with well rotted manure. \\'henever 

 necessary, these should all be staked. 



Dahlias and chrysanthemums for early flowers should now be planted. 



LIME-WATER BORDEAUX FOR SPRAYmG. 



D. McAlpiue, Vegetable Pathologist. 



The use of lime-water instead of milk of lime in the preparation of 

 Bordeaux mixture has many advantages, and the fact that equally good 

 results may be obtained with a considerable reduction in the amount of 

 sulphate of copper or bluestone is not the least important. Ever since 

 Bordeaux mixture was regarded as the most geneially useful fungicide, 

 attempts have been made to use as little of the copper salt as was con- 

 sistent with efliciency not only as a saving of expense, l)ut as a safeguard 

 against adding too much copper to the soil. As long as the chemistry of 

 the mixture was not properly understood, these attempts were merely 

 hai)hazard, and it is only quite recently that the chemical composition has 

 been sufficiently determined to enable us to use the proper proportions of 

 lime and bluestone. 



With the fine sprays now in use and the discontinuance of the old 

 method of drenching the trees or vines, the danger is much lessened from 

 this cause ; still, with the more general and constant use of this fungicide 

 year after year, an appreciable amount of copper is bound to reach the 

 soil. 



History of Bordeaux Mixture. 



It had long been the practice in the Medoc district in the south of 

 France to sprinkle the vines bordering the highway, either with verdigris 

 or, on account of its being cheaper, with a thick paste consisting of milk of 

 lime to which copper had been added, the object being to prevent boys and 

 vagrants from pillaging the vinevards. They were afraid to eat the ripe 

 grapes, splashed with a salt of copper which was so conspicuous, as they 

 believed they might be poisoned. 



When the mildew was very bad in the vineyards, it was noticeable 

 that the vines treated in this way were comparatively free from it. This 

 was clearly proved in 1882, but it was in 1884, when the attack was par- 

 ticularly severe, that the results were most striking. While the mildew 

 caused the leaves to shrivel up and fall prematurely, the vines splashed 

 with lime and bluestone remained green and the grapes ripened. Thus it 

 was accidentally discovered that the mixture, at first u.sed to protect the 

 grapes from marauders, was a protection against the ravages of the 

 mildew. 



