204 
Gardeners and Florists’ Annual for J9J8 
Agri. Exper. Stat. Univ. Tenn» 
A Simple, Durable and Efficient Barrel Sprayer 
counts for relatively low crop yields. When they are supplied by 
liming, increases in crop yields follow if other conditions are favorable. 
Soil Acidity, Test for. — The most common test for determining 
if soil is acid or sour, according to the U. S. Dept, of Agriculture, is 
by means of blue litmus paper, which can be obtained at a very small 
cost from nearly every druggist. A small quantity of moist soil from 
the field is compacted into a ball, the ball broken into halves, a strip 
of litmus paper laid across one part and the parts pressed firmly to- 
gether again. After an hour or so the ball of soil should be again 
broken apart and the paper removed. If the paper shows a decided 
pink color the sample of soil is acid. If a deep-rooted crop such as 
Alfalfa is to be grown it will be well to test samples taken from both 
the surface and the sub-soil. 
State Forests. — Thirteen States now have State forests; New 
York has the largest with 1,826,000 acres; Pennsylvania comes second 
with 1,008,000 acres; and Wisconsin third with 400,000 acres. But ex- 
cept for planting and fire control New York does not practise forestry 
on its State lands. 
Snlphnrie Acid as a Fungicide. — Sulphuric acid may be used 
as a spray against mildew on Gooseberries or for mildew and rust on 
Grape vines. Eight teaspoonfuls are equal to one fluid oz.; 16 fluid 
ozs. equal one pint; 8 pints equal one gallon. A dilution of one to 
1000 is used, or in other words, one teaspoonful to one gallon. One 
fluid oz, to 8 gallons is also employed, or 6 fluid ozs. to 50 gallons. 
Snlplmric Acid for Sweet Pea Seeds.' — Hard shelled seeds of 
Sweet Peas can be soaked ,for half an hour in pure sulphuric acid. 
After soaking wash the seeds with three changes of water. 
Digging. — A writer in the Gardeners’ Chronicle has been at the 
trouble to calculate the amount of work done in digging, and the statistics 
