406 The Profitable Culture of Vegetables. 



CUPRAM (Ammonia-Copper-Carbonate). This mixture, although a valu- 

 able fungicide, is less effective than Bordeaux mixture, and should only be 

 used on ripening crops, or in other cases where the "white-washing" effect 

 of the Bordeaux is objectionable. 



Copper Carbonate, l^oz. 



Liquid Ammonia (26 % Baume), 16 fluid ozs. 



Water to make 10 gallons. 



Dilute the ammonia with 12 pints of water and add the copper carbonate. 

 Add only a small quantity at a time and let this be well dissolved before 

 any more is put in. Dilute to 10 gallons before use. 



SULPHATE OF COPPER (Blue Vitriol or Bluestone). This is a useful 

 fungicide for many purposes, but it must not be applied to growing plants 

 or it will burn the foliage. It may be used to wash down glasshouses, lights 

 and frames after an attack of disease, to clean canes or stakes which have 

 been used to support an infected crop, to dress seed which may be sus- 

 pected of carrying disease, or to dress ground which has carried a diseased 

 crop. It must not be dissolved in iron or galvanised vessels. 

 Copper Sulphate, lb. to lib. 

 Water, 12 gallons. 



SULPHIDE OF POTASSIUM (Liver of Sulphur). Valuable for surface 

 mildews, and when mixed with soft soap may be used against red spider on 

 cucumbers or melons. 



Use from 2 to 8 ozs. to 10 gallons of water, according to the tenderness 

 or otherwise of the foliage. If soft soap is added, use IJlbs. of soap to 10 

 gallons of wash. 



The solution must be used at once after preparation, as it quickly loses 

 " strength," and any undissolved sulphide kept in stock must be kept in 

 tightly corked bottles. 



SULPHUR, either alone or mixed with equal parts of slaked lime, is 

 valuable for use against surface mildews, such as strawberry mildew. It 

 may be applied on small areas with an "insect powder" bellows, and on 

 more extensive places with a knapsack powder pump. It adheres to the 

 foliage better, and is therefore more effective, if applied when the plants 

 are damp with dew or mist. 



INSECT PESTS. 



INSECTS HARMFUL IN GENERAL. 



APHIDES, or Plant Lice. Aphides are known under numerous names, 

 of which that of "green fly" is perhaps the most common, although 

 there are green, black, and red varieties. They are small soft-bodied 

 insects, and are both winged and wingless; as a rule both forms occur 

 in each generation. Each has a sharp beak at the head, capable of 

 piercing the foliage of plants, and generally two protuberances or hollow 



