92 The Spraying of Plants. 



the help of the knowledge already acquired, to place this art 

 upon a footing even more firm than that enjoyed by those occu- 

 pations in which the weather and other dispensations of Provi- 

 dence have no direct influence. The passage contains the germ 

 of an educational movement which stands unparalleled in the 

 effect it has had in broadening the horizon of the agriculturist 

 of the United States. It has forced him to see that there is 

 more in his business than following the rule-of-thumb processes 

 so long in vogue. It has emphasized the power of knowledge, 

 and it has demonstrated, and is daily impressing the fact upon 

 all who take the trouble to see, that it requires more brains 

 than brawn to succeed in an occupation at which formerly 

 even the most ignorant could be at least fairly successful. The 

 ignorant are going to the wall, and it is the educated man, the 

 " book farmer," who is pushing them along, and who fills their 

 places when they are gone. The fittest stand the best chance 

 of surviving. 



TJie Warfare against the various Fungous Diseases. 



The formula for the manufacture of the Bordeaux mixture 

 was soon widely copied. The following year, 1886, it was 

 published by Hilgard in January, 1 by Riley in February, 2 by 

 Colman in May, 8 and again by Scribner in the government 

 reports. 4 



In Hilgard's report the remark is made that attention was 

 called to the mixture at an earlier date in the Pacific Rural 

 Press. No other fungicide is mentioned, but some remarks 

 are made concerning the value and use of the mixture in 

 France. Dr. Riley's article is on " The Mildew of the Grape 

 Vine " ; it mentions the Bordeaux mixture, and also the use of 

 kerosene-milk emulsion, sulphur and lime, and carbolic acid. 



It was during 1886 that the Section of Vegetable Pathology 

 was established as a part of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. F. Lamson-Scribner was appointed its chief, and 

 in May there appeared the first publication, Circular No. 1, 



i Calif. Agric. Exp. Sto. 1886, Jan. Bull. 51. 



Rural Neic- Yorker, 1886, Feb. 6, 87 



U. S. Dept. of Agric. Sot. Div. Sec. Veg. Path. 1886, May, CIr. 1 



* Ibid. Bull. ii. 16 ; Ann. Rept. U. S. Com. of Agric. 1886, 100. 



