JULY 383 



When in Germany I was much struck by a green- 

 house full of the healthiest tree and winter-flowering 

 Carnations I have ever seen. The gardener told me that 

 the secret of the entire absence of injured leaves and 

 spots from rust was that from July onwards, whether they 

 are in pots or planted out, he syringed them once a week 

 with the following mixture, which is also good for many 

 other plants that are often blighted, especially Hollyhocks 

 and Madonna Lilies : 



Mixture for killing Carnation Disease. (1) Two 



pounds of vitriol (copper) ; (2) four pounds of lime, fresh 

 slaked ; (3) twenty-seven gallons of water ; (4) two pounds 

 of sugar. (1) (2) and (3) should be mixed together till no 

 longer blue, but clear. Then mix the sugar with the rest. 

 Syringe with an insecticide every week in the early after- 

 noon. The syringing should be done quickly and finely. 

 The ordinary garden syringe with a fine rose does quite well. 



Here is the real Bordeaux mixture, slightly different 

 from the last receipt, used throughout the whole of '-. 

 France against the phylloxera on the Vines ; it is also a 

 cure for the Potato disease : 



Bordeaux Mixture. Dissolve three-quarters of a 

 pound of carbonate of copper in a little warm water ; place 

 it in a vessel that will hold six gallons of water. Slake half 

 a pound of freshly burnt lime and mix it with the water 

 so that it is about the thickness of cream. Strain it 

 through coarse canvas into the solution of copper. Then 

 fill up the vessel with water. 



With these two receipts it seems to me possible to try 

 endless experiments on plants in any way affected by 

 disease or rust. I shall certainly try it on Humea elegans 

 when the plants begin to go off. For a few years I gave up 

 growing this charming annual, the disease always making 

 its appearance. I cannot bear being beaten by a blight. 

 Everywhere on the Continent I find abundant supplies 



