IQII.] 



Spraying Experiments. 



885 



with below) is a more powerful fungicide than the "self- 

 boiled" lime-sulphur mixture and is perfectly safe when 

 diluted to a certain strength, and the Bulletin concludes : 

 "This mixture is therefore recommended in spraying the 

 apple, and is available for those cases where apple "scab " 

 or some other serious disease is feared and a stronger 

 fungicide than self-boiled lime-sulphur is desired." 



To proceed now to a consideration of the second class : 

 the "factory-boiled" or "home-boiled" lime-sulphur wash. 

 This is made by boiling the lime and sulphur together for 

 an hour or so, with the result that nearly all the sulphur 

 goes into solution. In the United States this wash in a con- 

 centrated form is placed on the market * at various guaranteed 

 strengths by firms of repute; this is known as the "factory- 

 boiled " lime-sulphur wash. The same wash can be prepared, 

 also in a concentrated form, by the grower himself ; this is 

 spoken of as "home-boiled." The formula which is believed 

 to be the best is 50 lb. of quicklime, 100 lb. of "flowers of 

 sulphur," boiled together for an hour in 50 gallons of water. 

 Before being used, the concentrate has to be greatly diluted. 

 For the exact method of preparation and dilution, and in- 

 formation as to its chemical nature, the reader is referred to 

 the article in this Journal for June last. 



The right strength at which to use this "home-boiled" 

 wash on foliage is at present, even in the United States, still 

 largely a matter for experiment. It has been used on 

 apple foliage in several spraying experiments in the States 

 at a density of 1*01 to roi5 sp. gr., and it is claimed that 

 this wash possesses stronger fungicidal properties than the 

 "self-boiled" wash, and is about as effective as Bordeaux 

 mixture in checking the "scab," while it is very much less 

 injurious to the foliage than Bordeaux mixture and harmless 

 to the fruit. 



It was obvious that before this wash could be used commer- 

 cially in this country with any safety, it was necessary to 

 ascertain to what extent the concentrate requires to be diluted 

 so as to make the wash harmless for the foliage of those tender 

 varieties, such as Cox's Orange Pippin, which becomes 

 injured when Bordeaux mixture is used. In the United States 



* Now obtainable in this country. 



