New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 325 



excess of lime the solids settled between 5 and 6 inches in the same 

 time. 



Importance of good lime properly slaked. — Prof. L. R. Jones and 

 Mr. W. A. Orton of the Vermont Experiment Station make the 

 following comments on the importance of good lime, properly slaked : 

 " The quality of the lime and the method of slaking it have much 

 influence upon the mixture. Thus, other conditions being equal, a 

 mixture made from a poorly slaked lime settled 19 per ct. [of the 

 height of a column in a glass cylinder] in an hour, while a mixture 

 made from properly slaked lime settled only 8 per ct. in the same 

 time. Lime that had been partially air-slaked gave still poorer results. 

 The lime should be fresh, clean and firm. In slaking, the best results 

 were obtained by adding at first only a small amount of water, pref- 

 erably hot, and then, as slaking begins, adding cold water in small 

 amounts as needed, never adding much at a time and never allowing 

 the lime to become dry. When too much water is added small lumps 

 of lime are apt to be covered and remain unslaked. When the lime 

 is fully slaked it should be fully diluted by adding water slowly while 

 stirring," 



Strength of bordeaux mixture. — The strength of the bordeaux 

 mixture may be wisely varied under different conditions. For ordi- 

 nary use in apple orchards where a good spray is thoroughly applied 

 a strength of from i-to-ii or i-to-io will usually be satisfactory; 

 for treating the potato a strength of from i-to-8 or i-to-7 may well 

 be used. For the very tender foliage of Japan plums and of peaches 

 the mixture, if used at all, may be reduced to i-to-25 formula. The 

 designations used for the various formulae are easily understood. For 

 example the i-to-ii mixture is made by using i lb. of copper sulphate 

 for making 1 1 gallons of bordeaux mixture. 



Method of preparation of bordeaux mixture. — It will be seen later 

 that lime may be slaked and thus kept in stock and that a stock solu- 

 tion of copper sulphate may be used ; but in order to get a clear un- 



