IN THE ORCHARD. 



287 



Free Sulphur ia the Lime-Sulphur- 

 Lye Wash. 



FRANK T. SHUTT, M. A., CHEMIST, DOMINION 

 EXPERIMENTAL EARMS. 



^ I '^ HERE has recently been devised a 



X method for the preparation of the 

 California spray, which does away with the 

 most troublesome part of the process, name- 

 ly, the boiling. The union of the lime and 

 sulphur is effected by the aid of lye, the 

 modification reducing the time of prepara- 

 tion and simplifying the whole operation. 



The efficacy of this wash, as in the case 

 of the lime-sulphur-salt wash, for the de- 

 struction of scale insects undoubtedly lie% 

 in the sulphur compounds it contains — in 

 other words, upon the degree to which the 

 component elements have united in the pn^ 

 paration of this insecticide. ' With this fact 

 in mind, it is important, therefore, to know, 

 first, how completely the sulphur is com 

 bined when the modified method with lye jj> 

 used; and, secondly, if the preparation can 

 be kept for any length of time without a 

 marked separation of the sulphur. 



Last November a quantity of, the wash 

 was prepared, using the lime, sulphur and 

 lye in the following proportions : Lime. 40 

 parts; sulphur, 20 parts'; lye (caustic soda), 

 10 parts. A sufficiency of water was em- 

 ployed to allow the proper preparation of 

 the compound, but the water requisite to 

 bring it to the right strength for spraying 

 was not added. As made, it was an orange- 

 red mass of a stiff, pasty consistency. 

 Analysis showed it to contain, approxi- 

 mately, 50 per cent, water, and further, that 

 traces only of sulphur existed in the free 

 state. 



I This pasty mass (which contained, ap- 

 proximately, 15 per cent, of combined sul- 

 phur), was placed in a large, glass-stop- 

 pered vessel to protect it from the air, and 

 allowed to remain in the laboratory all win- 

 ter. On April 15, practically 5 months 



after making, it was carefully examined for 

 free sulphur, and as a result 0.5 per cent, 

 was found to be present. It is evident from 

 the foregoing (i) that in the preparation 

 by the use of lye practically all the sulphur 

 may be brought into combination; and, (2) 

 that when preserved in the pasty condition, 

 out of contact with the air, no appreciable 

 amount of sulphur separates for a consider- 

 able length of time. 



It should not be inferred from the fore- 

 going that it is advisable to make more of 

 the mixture than is required for immediate 

 use. Exposure to the air, as in a barrel, 

 will, undoubtedly, cause deterioration. The 

 evidence here brought forward, however, 

 may prove of service to those who have 

 thought that the efficiency of the spray is 

 dependent upon its application within an 

 hour or two of its preparation. 



Hogs in the Plum Orchard 



PROE. H. L. HUTT, ONT. AGRI. COEIvEGE, 



GUELPH. 



What is the cause of apple trees dying- in the 

 orchard ? The trees are 10 to 15 years old and 

 fully four feet in diameter. Hogs used to run 

 in the orchard. The Toark of the trees near the 

 ground is gone. Can the hogs have done this ? 

 — (M. A. H., Oakville, Ont. 



It is quite possible that hogs may have 

 girdled the trees, as they will frequently do 

 this if pasture or feed becomes at all scarce, 

 and sometimes for no other reason than for 

 mere hoggishness. If the bark has been 

 destroyed all around the tree there is no 

 hope of saving the tree except by bridge 

 grafting. 



Scions for this purpose should be cvit long 

 enough to bridge the injured portion and 

 should be inserted beneath the bark above 

 and below the injury, and then bound firmly 

 with bandages, in which moist clay is held, 

 firmly about the trunk. If the injury has 

 been done so long ago that the tops are 

 already dying, it will be too late to save the 

 trees in this way, but trees recently girdled 

 can be saved by bridge grafting. 



