8 



Spraying Machines. 



[APRIL, 



under it for^American blight. A good wax for using warm or 

 cold can be made with equal parts by weight of Burgundy 

 pitch, kerosene^wax, and tallow (candles melted will do), or, as 

 tallow smells rather strongly while being melted, olive oil may 

 be preferred. They should be melted together in an old sauce- 

 pan, and if used warm the mixture can be put on with a paint 

 brush, or if cold with a putty knife. At the cost of not more 

 than eighteenpence enough can be made for several hundreds 

 of grafts. 



Clay is cheaper, but cannot always be obtained ; it may be 

 used in its natural state, according to the " temper" of the clay, 

 or mixed with a third part of cow-dung, Cow-dung is also 

 used alone, and also bands of hay and clay. 



If the wax made as described is applied, it will remain fairly 

 soft, and when the grafts grow well, about mid-summer, if a slit 

 is made in the roffia both will be pushed off by the swelling of 

 the grafts. 



John Ettle. 



SPRAYING MACHINES* 



The fruit-spraying machines in use in this country may be 

 divided into four classes — knapsack, hand-power, horse-power, 

 and steam- or oil-power. The machines to which reference is 

 made below are mentioned as being representative of these 

 various types. 



There are at least three knapsack machines in the market — 

 the Vermorel Eclair, Strawson's " Anti-pest," and one made 

 by Weeks & Son, of Maidstone. Spraying machines of this type 

 are suitable for small orchards, or for large ones of small trees 

 and bushes. Work is much slower with them than with larger 

 machines, as the volume of spray which they emit is slighter; 

 but there is a great convenience in the users being able to walk 

 freely among trees and bushes, and being independent of assist- 

 ance in refilling the vessels. They are not suitable for tall trees, 

 however, except when fitted with extra long lances, and then their 

 convenience is greatly diminished. Moreover, the strain on a 



* It must be distinctly understood that the Board of Agriculture do not express any 

 opinion as to the merits of any machine mentioned in this article, nor has any attempt 

 been made to give a complete list of the spraying machines in the market. 



