THE FARM 



323 



been carried out. Any material for the purpose of destroy- 

 ing insect life on plants is known as an insecticide. 



" Bordeaux mixture," containing copper sulphate along 

 with some lime in the water, is used as a spray for the 

 purpose of destroying fungus growths. It is a fungicide. 

 To apply these sprays in the form of a fine mist that shall 

 completely cover the foliage, twigs, and young fruit, requires 



FIG. 107. Spraying the trees. An outfit suitable for a small orchard' 



a force pump operated at a pressure of one hundred pounds 

 or more. The expense of equipment, and the amount of 

 labor required to keep apple trees healthy and their fruit 

 fit for use when grown, is a serious handicap in fruit growing 

 on a small scale. 



To the botanist the group of plants known as the fungi 

 is of the greatest interest. They have in them no chloro- 

 phyll for the manufacture of food for themselves. They 

 live and thrive upon what they appropriate from other 

 plants or from animals. The yeast plant is a fungus, and 



