202 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



3-4 EDWARD VII., A. 1904 



lip to 60 gallons, and the mixture is then ready for immediate use. In making the 

 above wash, it was found that to secure the proper chemical action the quantity could 

 not be reduced lower than: lime 4 lbs., sulphur 2 lbs., and caustic soda (the ordinary 

 concentrated lye of commerce) ^ lb., water 6 gallons. The rule is to use one-quarter 

 of a pound of caustic soda, or potash, to each pound of sulphur. With the exception 

 of heating the water, the whole of the cooking of this wash can be done in a half 

 barrel, and takes from ten to twenty minutes. From the ease with which 

 this wash can be made and from the fact that Mr. Parrott tells me that, al- 

 though ' the results upon the scale differed with different lots of the mixture, some of 

 the appHcations were entirely satisfactory,' I believe it is well that several people 

 should try this method of manufacture. The trouble of making the lime-sulphur-and- 

 salt wash has certainly prevented the use of such a valuable mixture to a large extent. 

 T regret to say that my own work with it did not begin soon enough for me to report 

 upon it now. I can merely say that the lime and caustic potash do dissolve the sul- 

 phur and that the appearance of the wash is what it ought to be. 



Mr. F. T. Shutt, the chemist of the Dominion Experimental Farms, has kindly 

 carried out some test preparations by this convenient new method of making the wash 

 and has handed me the following resume of his work : — 



ON A NEWLY-PROPOSED METHOD OF PREPARING THE LIME- 

 SULPHUR WASH. 



(By Frank T. Shutt, M.A., F.I.C., F.R.S.C.) 



In the report of the Division of Chemistry of the Experimental Farms for 1902, 

 the results of a series of experiments in the preparation of the lime, sulphur and salt 

 wash by boiling, are given. Since the appearance of that report a method has been 

 proposed by tlie New York (Geneva) Experiment Station, which obviates the neces- 

 sity of boiling — the chief drawback to the more common use of this valuable remedy. 

 The modification consists in the addition, at a certain stage in the preparation, of 

 strong lye, such as Babbitt's or Gillctt's. The proportions and preparation as given 

 in Bulletin No. 228 of the above named Experiment Station are as follows : — 



Lime (unslaked) 4-0 lbs. 



Sulphur (ground) 20 " 



Lye, concentrated 5 to 10 " 



Water GO gallons. 



* In the preparation of the mixture the lime was slaked, preferably with hot water, 

 and while it was slaking vigorously, the sulphur, which had been made into a thin 

 paste, was added and thoroughly mixed with the slaking lime. The caustic soda was 

 then added, with water as needed, and the whole stirred thoroughly. As soon as the 

 chemical action has ceased, the required amount of water, preferably hot water, is 

 added, and the mixture is ready for use.' 



It will be noticed that in this process there is no boiling and no salt, an ingredient 

 in the old formula which apparently had no direct value, but was useful in raising 

 the boiling point of the mixture, thus ensuring a more complete union of the sulphur 

 and lime. 



At the request of the Entomologist (Dr. Fletcher), we made several trial pre- 

 parations in the laboratory and found that the proposed method is quite workable and 

 sim^ple, and yields a product in which there is very little uncomhined sul-pliur. This 

 latter is an essential point, as undoubtedly it is the sulphur compounds that give this 

 wash its great value for destroying the scale. It is necessary to this end that the sul- 

 phur be added (in a thin paste) while the lime is still actively slaking — for which pur- 

 pose care should be taken to use only a sufficiency of water — and the mass stirred 



