459 
THE TRIALS OF SPRAYING MACHINES 
AT CAMBRIDGE. 
The offer of prizes at the Cambridge Meeting for horse power 
machines for distributing bouillie bordelaise, or Bordeaux mixture, 
upon potato plants to prevent or cure disease was most timely 
and judicious ; for, although the evidence in favour of this treat- 
ment in the United Kingdom is not so decisively favourable as 
in France and Belgium, there is quite sufficient to prove that it is 
of the greatest value. Fortunately, in the last few years, and 
since the discovery of the influence of sulphate of copper upon 
the fungus which causes the potato disease or “ blight,” there 
have been only light and partial outbreaks of the disease in this 
country, so that there have not been opportunities of thoroughly 
testing its efficacy. In this season, however, as there is a severe 
attack of disease in many localities, there will be occasions for 
trying it. And it may be said that at the time of writing this 
report striking instances of its preventive power have already 
been recorded. 
There is also no doubt that some of the experiments with 
the Bordeaux mixture in former years have had unsatisfactory 
results, on account of its improper or unskilful composition, as 
well as of its irregular and injudicious application. It is there- 
fore most important that suitable machines for equable and per- 
fect distribution should be brought to the front. There are 
admirable hand machines of the “ Knapsack ” type for putting 
the Bordeaux mixture on potato plants ; these are generally used 
in foreign countries and answer well for small acreages of pota- 
toes, and where labour is cheap. But, in the United Kingdom, as 
labour is dear and many growers have large breadths of potatoes, 
horse machines are necessary, since it is most important that 
spraying should be done rapidly, especially when the disease has 
made its appearance and the treatment is remedial. 
For the prize of 10L offered by the Royal Agricultural Society 
at Cambridge, only four machines were entered. Of these three 
came to the trial ground, the remaining one, that entered by 
Mr. W. W. Cousins (No. 4685), having been damaged in transit 
and rendered unfit for working. 
The machines that were actually tried are described in the 
Implement Catalogue as follows : — 
