26 



mended by Mr. A. N. Brown, of Delaware, and this preparation 

 undoubtedly kills a considerable proportion of the scale insects upon 

 a tree, but the results are not equal to those obtained where a boiled 

 wash is employed, and we confess to feeling that in the end it wall 

 prove unsatisfactory, though we have known of instances Avhere 

 very fair results were secured. 



AVe have developed a new lime-sulphur wash in which sal soda is 

 used to assist in bringing about the chemical combination instead of 

 caustic soda. Our results with this were most gratifying. Several 

 formulse were employed, and as the outcome of our experiments we 

 have decided to recou)mend for further experimental work the same 

 amounts of lime and sulphur as before mentioned and 10 pounds of 

 sal soda to 50 gallons of wash. This may be pre])ared by i)lacing 

 five or six pails of hot water in a barrel, preferably a thick pork 

 or oil barrel, adding the lime, and quickly following that with 

 the sulphur and sal soda, and then stirring till the slaking is prac- 

 tically completed. It may be necessary to add cold water at inter- 

 vals to keep the mixture from l^oiling over. After tlie rapid 1»ubbling 

 or boiling is practically completed cover the open barrel with burlap 

 and allow it to stand thirty minutes or more. A caution regarding 

 stirring should be made here, since it seems to affect the composition 

 of the mixture. There should be enough agitation to keep the mate- 

 rials from caking at the bottom, and yet not so much as to seriousl}- 

 hinder the slaking of the lime and accompanying chemical changes. 

 This method of jjreparation gives an excellent compound, so far as 

 deep color and little sediment is concerned, provided it is }:)roperly 

 prepared, and one of the essentials in making it appears to be 

 thorough stirring at the outset in order to intimately mix the lime, 

 sal soda, and sulphur. A deep red or even pea-green color should 

 be secured. This wash sprays nicely, and in experiments com- 

 menced last spring has given as good results in killing the San Jose 

 scale as any of the lime-sulphur washes. It has several advantages. 

 It requires no boiling, and the sal soda is a common material, easily 

 handled and obtainable in almost every locality. It is also a little 

 cheaper, as the amount of sal soda necessary costs less than the quan- 

 tity of caustic soda advised for preparing 50 gallons of wash. This 

 mat«nnal has been used but one season, though it was tried in several 

 localities. Professor Lochhead, of "the Ontario Agricultural Col- 

 lege, states that in his hands it was just as successful as other lime- 

 sulphur washes, and a few others obtained from good to excellent 

 results in spite of their inability to give it a thorough trial. 



In this connection it might be well to add that experiments were 

 tried with the caustic soda solution, using al)out 1 j^mnd to C gallons 

 of water, and also with a bordeaux mixtiu-e to which -2 ounces of coi-- 

 rosive sublimate were added to each 50 gallons. The results showed 



