OUR RIVALS 149 



hundred trees. The drought had loosened the fruit, 

 and the sky, so lovably blue to us, was spoiling the 

 crops. "Take care; do not step on them," you 

 say involuntarily, for to a Northerner an orange is 

 still sacred. The upshot was that we pressed twenty 

 bushels into vinegar better vinegar than that from 

 apples. The bluejays hooted at us, while they 

 gorged themselves on mulberries. I wonder if any- 

 one really can live a simple life; at any rate we Yan- 

 kees saved the oranges and made vinegar enough 

 for forty years. Yet in all Florida a million bushels 

 went to waste. This is but one item in the annual 

 loss that we ought to know how to prevent. Wind 

 and weather combine with our insect rivals to reduce 

 our wages for work to a minimum; we must deter- 

 mine the maximum. 



One must pluck victory from defeat. Make all 

 your defective fruit, both apples and pears, into 

 cider, and when your crop runs over the market 

 demands, have a home cannery. Every country 

 home of any size should have its own cider press 

 and turn to value what most of the growers let 

 waste. Grind no half-rotten stuff, wash off all dirt, 

 and put in no water. Cider, genuine cider, is a 

 drink for Jupiter, and real honest, clean, pure cider 

 will bring a remunerative price. 



I cannot close this chapter wisely without giving 

 you formulas for two or three of the more important 

 fungicides and insecticides. For Bordeaux mixture 

 take three pounds copper sulphate, three pounds of 



