294 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



several firms is in the form of an orange-red solution. It is 

 the product of these two substances after they have been 

 boiled together until they go into solution. The products of 

 different firms vary in degree of concentration and there may 

 be a wide range of variation in this respect in the product of 

 a given firm. 



Home-made lime-sulphur is similar to the commercial, 

 though not so concentrated. If properly made, it may be used 

 as a summer spray for apples, though its chief use has been 

 as a winter wash for San Jose scale. 



In connection with the spraying demonstrations of 1909 

 and 1910 tests were carried on to see how apple scab could 

 be best controlled without russeting the fruit or burning the 

 foliage. To determine this, Bordeaux, Commercial (Rex), 

 and self-boiled lime-sulphur were employed. Different 

 strengths were used. Certain plats had Bordeaux 

 through the season; others had the fungicide omitted 

 the second spraying, and still others had lime-sulphur 

 either for the second spraying or through the season. 

 The scab results for 1909 were somewhat contradictory. 

 These tests were repeated in 1910, but no scab developed 

 even on the unsprayed plats. A representative tree was 

 picked from each plat and the fruits sorted for russet. Two 

 grades were made. Those showing no injury and those 

 showing it slightly but not enough to injure their sale were 

 put into one grade, and those with russet enough to injure 

 the market value into the other. 



Results of the use of Bordeaux alone and in combination with 

 lime-sulphur in russeting Ben Davis apples. 



Spray mixture used. Badly russeted. ,.*T e f or on ' v 



slightly russeted 



First spraying. Second spraying. *o.of Per No of Per 



apples cent. apples. cent. 



4-4-.iO Bordeaux. 3-9-51) Bordeaux .. 105 31.8 228 68.2 



Omitted 3-3-50 Bordeaux .. 55 9.0 550 91.0 



4-4-50 Bordeaux. 3-3-50 Bordeaux .. 116 15.3 635 84.7 



4-4-50 Bordeaux. 4-4-50 Bordeaux .. 66 17.5 310 82.5 



4-4-50 Bordeaux. Omitted 56 2.9 1874 97.1 



4-4-50 Bordeaux. IJ/a -51) Rex 100 6.8 1361 93.2 



l'/2-50 Rex 1^-50 Rex 13 1.4 866 98.6 



4-4-50 Bordeaux. 1010-50 Self boiled. 40 4.3 882 95.7 



The results from this table indicate plainly that it is the 

 second spraying that causes russeting. The lime-sulphur 

 sprays do not russet the fruit the small per cent noted in 

 the table is proably due to the Bordeaux from adjacent plats. 

 Xo serious leaf injury resulted from any of the mixtures. 

 In the Columbus orchard, 1910, the self-boiled lime-sulphur 

 plat seemed to have brighter foliage than either the Bordeaux 

 or the Rex plats. Xo injurious effect has ever resulted 

 fom using using arsenate of lead in combination with the 

 lime-sulphur sprays. 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



1. Do not wait until spraying time to begin making 

 preparations. Plan mixing devices and be provided with all 

 the necessary materials and the spray machine well in ad- 

 vance of the spraying season. 



2. Properly constructed mixing devices are very es- 

 sential for rapid and efficient work. 



3. The first spraying for apples should be made with 

 n-3-50 Bordeaux, 1J4-50 commercial lime-sulphur, or 10-10- 

 50 self-boiled lime-sulphur just before the individual flower 

 buds open. No poison. 



4. The second spraying is the most important one and 

 it should be applied after the flowers have begun to drop 

 and before the calyx lobes close. For such varieties as 

 Ben Davis and Gano that are easily russeted, use one of the 

 lime-fulphur sprays. Use either Paris green at the rate of 

 l /n pound to 50 gallons or lead arsenate at the rate of \ 1 A 

 pounds to 50 gallons in combination with the fungicide. 

 Thoroughness and high pressure are very essential. 



.">. The third spr.iying should be made with the com- 

 binatio-i fungicide and poison about three weeks after the 

 second. 



6. The fourth application should be made with the 

 poison alone about seven weeks after the third. (A fifth 

 application, consisting of poison alone, some time in August, 

 is to be recommended in orchards where the skeletonizing 

 caterpillars are troublesome.) 



7. Self-boiled lime-sulphur 10-10-50 will control mild 

 cases of apple scab, and it will not burn the foilage or russet 

 the fruit. 



8. Commercial lime-sulphur can be used as a summer 

 Fprav for apples with as little danger to the foliage as 

 Bordeaux. It does not russet the fruit enough to injure its 

 market value. 



SOILS AND SOIL MOISTURE.* 

 Prof. Childers. 



In dealing with soil moisture it would be well to 

 consider the rise of soil moisture. 



Clay soils are nearly always wet. Sandy soils are 

 always dry. Clay soils will lift water from greater 

 depths because of fine particles in the soil. 



Size of sand runs from .025 of an inch up to coarse 

 gravel. Clay particles are more than 5-l,OOOth of an inch 

 in diameter. 



Owing; to the density of particles in sand, there is 

 space between the molecules which fills up witli water, 

 and the gravity of the water tends to pull it down in- 

 stead of up, and that is the reason why sandy soils dry 

 out and require more water. 



It is the root hair on the plant which takes up the 

 water. 



Plants take water from sandy soils much more easily 

 than from clay soils. 



Adding manure to clay ground will transmit condi- 

 tions of water in sandy soil. 



The fertility of a clay soil will outlast the fertility 

 of a sandy soil, but that should not excite us when water 

 is the main feature. 



If you grow alfalfa be sure to incorporate some 

 organic matter. 



Xitrogen does not exist in soil particles. 



You will find a film of water about each soil particle, 

 full of bacteria, and they will not grow unless they can 

 get air. 



Our soils are sandy compared with eastern soils. 



Our sand is quartz and our clay is feldspar. 



Black alkali is sodium carbonate. 



You will never find pure water in a soil. 



Water flowing through a soil which is charged with 

 any kind of alkali, whether magnesium or lime, will 

 make the water denser, and when the water on the out- 

 side of the plant cell is nearly to the density of the water 

 inside the plant cell, this causes alkali. 



Phosphorus in a soil is in the form of calcium phos- 

 phate, is insoluble and therefore cannot be washed out 

 of a soil, so you need not fear about phosphorus being 

 washed out if alkali needs to be washed out. 



The nitrogen of a soil is united with its humus and 

 you cannot wash humus out, but if that soil is aerated 

 and that humus breaks down and dissolves, then nitrogen 

 will go into solution and wash some of it out, but this 

 need not worry us. 



If excessive evaporation can be shut off outward, 

 this reduces rank growth of crops ahd tends to keep 

 out alkali. 



Hardpan does not necessarily have to be clay or 

 cement. Any substance which forms a barrier to the 

 sinkage of water is termed hardpan. 



Whenever you find a clay coming in contact with 

 lime it ceases to be flattened out, but crumbles it up, and 

 under those conditions you will find hardpan. 



With hardpan formed with clay, subsoil to bring it 

 up to the surface of the soil. Take a plow and turn 

 over the top inches, then take a subsoiling plow to 

 break up the hardpan. 



When trees are planted in a shallow soil they are 

 going to be short-lived. 



If you can keep ground fertile and plants well culti- 

 vated to produce heavy growth, there will be less danger 

 in frost. 



When rainfall is under 15 inches, dry farming is a 

 hazardous business. 



Plants cannot take all the water from the soil. 



Sandy loam soil will weigh about 95 pounds per cubic 

 foot. 



One pound of sandy loam soil particles will have 816 

 square feet of surface and will give up all of its water 

 excepting 8 per cent. 



Silt loams contain 1.340 square feet of particles and 

 will give up all of its water excepting 25 per cent. 



Clay soil contains 2,000 square feet of particles and 

 40 per cent of its water will be available. 



The following table shows the amount of water re- 

 quired per ton of dry matter: 



'From Bulletin No. 1, Movable Schools of Agriculture, Univer- 

 sity of Idaho. 



