TWENTIETH ANNUAL MEETING. 89 



show you to-(la}- a large number of apples in an orchard that 

 has not been sprayed in twelve years, and any man will swear 

 that they are sprayed with Bordeaux. They are russeted 

 and cracked, and were all that way in the orchard. 



I am inclined to think that the copper in Bordeaux 

 mixture, and the soluble sulphur, not the lime-sulphur, play 

 very little part in the actual russeting, — that it is, perhaps, the 

 wetting" of the fruit at a certain time under certain condi- 

 tions, that brings about the russeting more than anything 

 else. 



If the hairs on the fruit are injured, it starts russeting, 

 and th.e copper, which is soluble and very toxic in its poisons, 

 gets in there and aggravates it greatly. The reason why 

 lime-sulphur does not do that is because if the wetting kills 

 the hairs and starts the russeting, by the time that the poison 

 gets worked into the fruit, it is dry, and still you have got 

 no longer the soluble sulphur. So I am perfectly satisfied 

 in my own mind that the soluble sulphur which is in the 

 lime-sulphur, plays little or no part in russeting the fruit, but 

 the primary injury is du^ to the wetting of the fruit. 



AIr. Underwood: I would like to know if that theory 

 applies to all varieties of apples? Now I spray Roxbury 

 Russets with Bordeaux purposely to make them Russet. 

 (Laughter. ) 



Prof. W'hetzel: That is a new one on me, that is a 

 good scheme, that is one good word for Bordeaux mixture, 

 and I have no doubt you will all spray your Russets with Bor- 

 deaux mixture. 



Certainly all varieties do not suffer the same from rus- 

 seting. There are some varieties that are practically immune 

 from russeting, and if you will send to Geneva, N. Y., and 

 ask for their bulletin on Bordeaux injury, you will get a list 

 of varieties that are very easily russeted by Bordeaux 

 mixture, and those that are practically immune. Baldwins 

 are very susceptible, both to actual natural russeting. and to 

 the Bordeaux mixture. 



