78 beginners' guide to fruit growing 



gunny sack and hang it at the top of a vessel of 

 water. For the quantities mentioned in the recipe 

 above, the 4 pounds of copper sulphate should be 

 dissolved in not more than 20 gallons of water. 

 The lime should be slaked carefully, using only just 

 enough water to bring it into solution. After it has 

 been thoroughly slaked, it may be thinned out. 

 When both solutions are thus made up, they should 

 be diluted to 25 gallons each and poured together, 

 being thoroughly mixed while the pouring is going 

 on. The mixture, after being strained into the spray 

 tank, is ready for use. 



A common and excellent way of preparing this 

 mixture for orchard use is to make up two stock 

 solutions. The copper sulphate solution is made 

 up by dissolving the sulphate at the rate of one 

 pound to the gallon of water, and the lime solution 

 similarly, with one pound of lime to the gallon of 

 water. If, then, it is required to fill a hundred gal- 

 lon tank with bordeaux mixture, it is only necessary 

 to dip out 8 gallons of lime solution, 8 gallons of 

 copper sulphate solution, and then mix these in the 

 tank with enough water to make a tankful of 

 mixture. 



The formula given above is standard strength, 

 but the mixture is often used weaker, especially on 

 peach and plum trees. Instead of using 4 pounds of 

 copper sulphate and 4 pounds of lime to 50 gallons 

 of water, the diluted mixture may contain 100 or 

 even 150 or 200 gallons of water, making the solu- 

 tion one-half or one-fourth strength. 



It is important in making this solution to have 

 good, clean, unslaked lime. A slight excess of lime 

 in the solution is desirable. 



The lime-sulphur spray described (page 80) as a 



