51 



utes, using enough water to finish with 50 gallons of con- 

 centrated solution. The boiling may be done in a kettle over 

 a fire, or in a barrel or other tank with steam. A 75-gallon 

 feed cooker is perhaps the most satisfactory equipment. In 

 diluting for summer spraying 2 gallons of this solution 

 should be used in 50 gallons of water. Used at this strength 

 in our experiments it controlled apple scab, leaf-spot and 

 cedar rust, fully as Avell as Bordeaux mixture, without se- 

 riously injuring the fruit or foliage. 



Commercial Lime-Sulfur Solution : A number of manu- 

 facturers are now placing on the market concentrated lime- 

 sulfur solutions to be used as a fungicide and an insecticide. 

 Most of these preparations test 32° to 33° on the Baume 

 hydrometer and contain in solution about 2 1-2 to 2 3-4 lbs. 

 of sulfur to each gallon. They are practically the same as 

 the home-made solution, but are a little more concentrated 

 and therefore require more dilution. A strength of 1 1-2 

 gallons of the solution to 50 gallons of water gives about 

 4 lbs. of sulfur in each 50 gallons of spray and produces the 

 same results as the home-made solution diluted to contain 

 the same amount of sulfur. 



We have experimented with several different brands of 

 these commercial products and have found very little differ- 

 ence in them. All that were tested gave fairly uniform re- 

 sults and compared favorably with the home-made solution. 

 It appears, therefore, that, except in the matter of cost, it 

 makes very little difference whether the preparation is pur- 

 chased from the factory or made at home. The home-made 

 product is less expensive but more troublesome. 



Results of Experiments 



Experiments comparing the lime-sulfur preparations 

 with Bordeaux mixture in the treatment of apple diseases 

 have been conducted by the Bureau of Plant Industry in Vir- 

 ginia, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, and Arkansas. Except- 

 ing bitter-rot and blotch, all diseases of the fruit and foliage 

 in all the experiments were as thoroughly controlled by 

 the lime-sulfur solution as by the Bordeaux mixture. The 

 lime-sulfur produced very little or no russeting of the fruit 

 and no serious foliage injury while the Bordeaux injured 

 both fruit and foliage of Ben Davis, Jonathan, Yellow New- 

 ton, and some other varieties. The lime-sulfur sprayed fruit 



