Spraying in Australasia. 57 



garden of the London Horticultural Society, says that "small 

 brown ants are also very troublesome [to orchid growers], but 

 they may be destroyed by placing sugar and arsenic, ground to 

 an impalpable powder, on bits of card near the places they fre- 

 quent." 1 A fear of poisoned fruit following the use of arsenic 

 has also been expressed, and this, although perfectly groundless, 

 has worked against the introduction of such remedies. But 

 nevertheless, spraying has now become the rule and not the 

 exception in some parts of England.' 2 This applies particu- 

 larly to " the various fruit farms around Evesham and Pershore " 

 and may also be true of other localities. The benefits derived 

 from the practice are being appreciated, and eventually all 

 growers must see the necessity of its adoption. 



V. IN AUSTRALASIA. 



Plants suffer from disease wherever they may be grown. 

 If they are introduced into a new locality, the old diseases fol- 

 low them. Such has been the case in Australia and Tasmania. 

 These countries have recently taken a prominent position as 

 producers of fine fruit, but here, as elsewhere, the horticulturist 

 must be constantly on the alert to save his crop from some other 

 claimant. The spray evidently did not meet with much opposi- 

 tion in those far-away lands, but it was welcomed as an agent 

 which would assist in the production of more perfect crops. As 

 early as 1886, F. S. Crawford 3 experimented with ferrous sul- 

 phate and later he recommended its use at the rate of one 

 pound to ten gallons. It was only to be applied to dormant 

 wood. The following compounds are also mentioned, all but 

 the first two being quoted from American publications : car- 

 bolic acid emulsion, copper sulphate, eau celeste (Audoynaud 

 process), eau celeste (modified formula), Bordeaux mixture, 

 sulphatine, sulphatine (Davenport's modification), and David's 

 po \vder. 



1 George Gordon in a paper, " Notes on the Proper Treatment of Epiphytal 

 Orchids," Jour, of the London ffort. Soc. iv. 19, communicated in Nov. 1848. 



2 Jour, of the Royal Ifort. Soo. 1895, Jan. 185. 



3 Extract from a paper by F. S. Crawford, read at the Congress of the Central 

 Bureau of Agriculture of South Australia, held in Adelaide, 1S90, March 4-7. Cited 

 in Gard. Chron. 1890, July 19, 69. 



