192 SPRAYING MATERIALS 



sections where there is not much trouble from the apple scab, 

 more harm than good is often done to the fruit by spraying with 

 Bordeaux. Another trouble that is sometimes experienced with 

 it is that it aggravates the tendency, frequently seen in fruit trees, 

 for the leaves to turn yellow or brown and to fall. 



Yet with all its faults Bordeaux is such an efficient fungicide 

 that it ought to be used whenever it can be without too much 

 danger. For example, it ought to be used on all such fruits as 

 grapes, currants and gooseberries because here it does no damage 

 and these fruits are especially liable to damage from fungous 

 enemies. Many good orchardists prefer to use it, particularly 

 on those varieties not seriously injured by it, where apple scab is 

 especially troublesome, because a considerable russeting of the 

 skin is to be preferred to even a small amount of scab. 



Formulas for Bordeaux. — There are two formulas for Bor- 

 deaux mixture which are in general use at the present time. One 

 which is used most generally is as follows : 



4 pounds copper sulfate, 4 pounds lime, 50 gallons water. 



For those fruits or varieties which are most susceptible to 

 injury, such as Japanese plums, peaches, and certain varieties of 

 apples, a weaker formula is used, made as follows : 



3 pounds copper sulfate, 3 pounds lime, 50 gallons water. 



Stock Solutions for Bordeaux. — Where Bordeaux is to be used 

 in any quantity it is much better to use in preparing it what are 

 called "stock solutions." These are prepared as follows: 



Weigh out 50 pounds of copper sulfate and dissolve it in 50 

 gallons of water, by hanging it in a cotton bag in the top of a 

 barrel of water. It will dissolve much more quickly in this way 

 than if thrown into the barrel. In fact, it never will dissolve if 

 merely thrown into the barrel, as the water immediately sur- 

 rounding the crystals soon becomes saturated and as this solution 

 is heavier than plain water it remains right in the bottom of the 

 barrel. The amounts mentioned give us one pound of copper 

 sulfate to each gallon of water. 



