120 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Omameiital 

 Flowers. 



Bordeaux 

 Mixture. 



Bordeaux 

 Mixture and 

 Paris Green. 



Poisoning by 



Bordeaux 



Itlixtui'e. 



History of 

 Bordeaux 

 Mixture. 



Time to 

 DriU. 



748. Q. Why cannot I succeed in Virginia in growing ornamental 

 flowers with the same success as I did in England? 



A. In England the climate is damp, while in Virginia it is dry, the annual 

 rainfall in Virginia not being over one-third of as many inches of water. 

 Some seasons annual and biennial flowers do admirably in the vicinity of 

 Philadelphia, other years they are miserable failures, all depending upon 

 the climatic conditions in June, July and August. 



749. Q. Will the repeated application of Bordeaux mixture poison the 

 soil? 



A. No records of any injury, the copper sulphate being neutralized by 

 the lime. 



750. Q. Can Bordeaux mixture, a fungicide, be mixed with an insecti- 

 cide, and both applied at once ? 



A. Yes ; Paris green or London purple can be mixed with Bordeaux 

 mixture — one pound of the arsenite to 100 gallons of Bordeaux — and used 

 to good efi'ect. As the mixture is very tenacious, care must be observed 

 not to apply it immediately before the ripening of fruit, as rain will not 

 entirely wash off" the application, and some poison might remain on the 

 fruit or vegetable. 



751. Q. Is there danger of poisoning members of the human family 

 through fruits or vegetables which have been sprayed by Bordeaux 

 mixture? 



A. None whatever, so far as any records go ; but it is best to avoid 

 risks, and as maturation of fruits or vegetables approach to decrease to 

 one-half the strength of the solution. 



752. Q. What is Bordeaux mixture? When was it introduced and 

 what is it used for ? 



A. It was introduced among the grape growers of Bordeaux, France, 

 about 1878, but not brought into prominent notice until six to seven years 

 later, when it was largely used in the treatment of black rot and downy 

 mildew. This fungicide is now in more general use in the United States 

 than in any other pai't of the world because American cultivators as a 

 mass are more progressive men than foreigners. Much confusion exists 

 as to its preparation. The general standard now may be taken as six 

 pounds of good copper sulphate, free from iron or zinc, four pounds of 

 strong, fresh quicklime, twenty-two gallons of water. This mixture, 

 which may be diluted by the admixture of two or three parts more of 

 water, is used for spraying fruit trees, and all garden productions for the 

 destruction of any vegetable fungous growth. 



753. Q. When drilling garden seeds is it best to drill before or after a 

 rain? 



A. If the drilling is done before rain the seed may lay without sprout- 

 ing for days or even weeks, and the land baked hard as a brick, or if the 

 seed sprouts from a little moisture it may subsequently die for want of 

 more moisture. If rain quickly follows the drilling the germinating con- 

 ditions may be all right, but the seed may be washed out of the drills or 



