i894 
^53 
the rural NEW-YORKER. 
THE FACTS ABOUT NOZZLES AND SPRAYERS. 
I have sprayed apple trees one season with Paris- 
green and Bordeaux Mixture combined, and have had 
two difficulties: 1. Even with 15 feet of hose, attached 
to a long pole, it was impossible to throw a fine, 
misty spray to the tops of full-sized trees (I used the 
Vermorel nozzle). The best I could do was to take 
oflf the nozzle, and merely throw a fine, solid one- 
eighth-inch stream from the windward side, high above 
the trees, allowing it to fall in drops upon the foliage. 
This was imperfect work, and wasteful of material. 
How can a fine spray be applied at such a height ? 
2. With careful straining of the Bordeaux Mixture, 
the apparatus (a Field Empire spraying pump) would 
often clog; the small return pipe (one-eighth-inch 
aperture) intended for keeping the liquid stirred in 
tbe barrel, and the Vermorel nozzle were both liable 
to this difficulty. Detailed instructions for prepar¬ 
ing the Bordeaux Mixture free from sediment would, 
I believe, be very useful to other beginners in spray¬ 
ing, as well as to myself. I have lately seen a solu¬ 
tion of prussiate of potash recommended as a test for 
ascertaining when enough lime has been added to the 
copper solution, to neutralize its caustic effect. 
Port Chester, N. Y. w. p, 
ANSWEUED BY PROF. M. V. SLINGKRLAND. 
Any one who tries to spray large apple trees with 
the Bordeaux Mixture through a Vermorel nozzle, 
, will have a similar experience to that detailed by the 
correspondent. Most of the pumps now on the market 
do their part of the work satisfactorily ; but those 
who spray are fast learning that it is not all in the 
pump. It is safe to say that the nozzle is the most 
important part of the spraying outfit. Several new 
nozzles are appearing every year, and, like patent 
medicines, they are advertised to do almost every¬ 
thing. Some survive the tests of experiment station 
workers and others; and some (and others ought to) 
“ fall by the wayside.” There are at least 20 differ¬ 
ent kinds of nozzles now on the market, but only 
about one-half of them require serious consideration 
if one is to spray with the Bordeaux Mixture. 
Nozzles may be divided into two groups: First, 
those that throw a wide, funnel or fan-shaped spray 
which goes but a short distance (five or six feet), and 
is thus well adapted for work only among grape 
vines, dwarf trees, and in gardens. The best examples 
of this group are the Cyclone, the Vermorel, the Mas¬ 
son and the Bordeaux ; the first is easily clogged, and 
has no attachment for cleaning; the Vermorel is quite 
readily cleaned; the last two are very similar, and 
are readily cleaned by turning a stop cock handle, 
and thus throwing a solid stream. The second group 
of nozzles includes those that are adapted for long 
distance work (10 feet or over) in orchards ; the best 
examples are the Bean, the Wellhouse, the Nixon or 
Climax, the Lilly or Calla, and the Graduated Spray 
nozzles. Only the first and the last two make any 
provision for clogging, the former by a screw which 
regulates the rubber-tube orifice, the Lilly by un¬ 
screwing a (?ap and moving a punctured slide across 
to a larger hole, and the last by a simple twist which 
brings a solid stream. The Lewis Graduated Spray 
nozzle throws a solid stream against a curved fiat 
piece, and thus cannot become easily clogged, but the 
spray drops are quite coarse; the Climax and Wellhouse 
throw a satisfactory spray when clean, but are quite 
easily clogged. 
Recently there has come upon the market the 
McGowen nozzle (manufactured by its inventor, a 
young farmer, J. J. McGowen, Ithaca, N. Y.) which 
combines the qualities of both the groups of nozzles 
mentioned above. It can be regulated to throw a fine, 
forcible, fan-shaped spray adapted to a distance of 
from two to fifteen feet. By an ingenious, yet simple 
spring arrangement (which also may often be used as 
a stop-cock) it will clean itself of any substance not 
larger than 1-5x3-16 inches. Through this nozzle, a 
good economical spray (and by spray I do not mean a 
solid stream which afterwards breaks up into drops) 
can be thrown at least 15 feet, which is nearly three 
times as far as the Vermorel spray goes. Even with 
this advantage, and with a wagon as platform, it 
would be necessary to attach the McGowen nozzle to 
a pole thoroughly to spray very high apple trees. The 
adaptability of this nozzle to either long or short 
distance spraying, makes it a valuable spraying device. 
A few words ought to be said about the agitators 
attached to many pumps. The return-stream agita¬ 
tors are of little, if any, value when the Bordeaux 
Mixture is used. The revolving wooden agitators in 
some of the horse-power machines do good work. The 
wooden agitator attached to the Climax pumps comes 
the nearest to doing the work of any I have seen, but 
I believe that a thorough stirring with a hand paddle 
every few minutes is the best method yet devised. 
I do not think a Bordeaux Mixture can be made that 
will be free from sediment. Here at the Station we 
use the following formula, which is now generally 
recommended ; 6 pounds of copper sulphate; 4 pounds 
of quicklime ; 40 to 50 gallons of water. The sulphate 
will dissolve much quicker if put in a coarse bag or 
basket and suspended in the top of the vessel (always 
use wooden or glass) of water. Slake the lime in 
sufficient water to form a thin whitewash, and strain 
this into the first solution. In making large quanti¬ 
ties of the Bordeaux Mixture, a very good way is to 
dissolve the sulphate in a barrel at the rate of one 
pound to a gallon of water ; also put enough lime in 
another barrel to make a thin whitewash when slaked 
and stirred. When ready to make the mixture, dip 
out the required amount of the copper solution (re¬ 
membering that every time you dip out a gallon of 
the solution you have a pound of the sulphate) into 
the mixing vessel, and then strain a little of the 
whitewash into this concentrated sulphate solution 
and keep stirring the mixture. 
At this point, the test mentioned by the correspond¬ 
ent comes in very handy, making a better, more even 
mixture and obviating the necessity of weighing the 
lime. Five cents’ worth of prussiate of potash dis¬ 
solved in one-half pint of water will be sufficient to 
test all the Bordeaux one will use in several years. 
From time to time, as the whitewash is added and the 
mixture stirred, drop a few drops of the potash solu¬ 
tion in the mixture. If too much lime has b^en added, 
the potash solution will not change color, but if there 
is not enough lime, the testing solution will turn dark 
brown as soon as it strikes the mixture. Continue 
adding the whitewash and stirring the mixture until 
a slight addition of either the lime or the sulphate 
will affect the testing solution, thus forming a neutral 
solution. It ;■ s better to have a little too much lime 
than not enough, for an excess of sulphate solution 
may injure the foliage. The four pounds of lime in 
the formula are usually considerably more than is 
necessary to make a neutral mixture. This test is very 
practical, saves time, and, there being less lime in the 
mixture, makes it work easier and better in spraying. 
This concentrated mixture is next diluted with the re¬ 
quired amount of water according to the formula. The 
barrel or tank to which the pump is attached should be 
provided with a quite fine strainer, so that everything 
that goes into the receptacle should be well strained 
With these precautions, I think no one need have any 
trouble in using the Bordeaux Mixture with almost 
any of the nozzles mentioned above. 
THE PROSPECT. 
Agricultural meetings in England have brought 
to light farmers who have been feeding sawdust to 
horses. One man fed a mixture of one-third each fresh 
elm sawdust, crushed oats and fine cut straw with a 
little hay. It is stated, on good authority, that this 
really keeps the horses in good condition. Animals 
eat young twigs and shoots of trees and bushe.s. What 
is sawdust but a twig grown up ? 
t t t 
A YEAR ago The R. N.-Y. gave an account of the 
growing of canaigre, the plant from which tannic acid 
is derived. This plant grows wild in Arizona and 
New Mexico, and reaches a high development under 
cultivation. It appears that German chemists have 
tested canaigre carefully and report it a full substitute 
for barks in tanning. Indeed, for some kinds of 
leather, it is ahead of any other tanning substance. 
Canaigre will sell all over the world. The only thing 
demanded is that a large quantity must be produced. 
The cultivation of canaigre will not interfere with 
the supply of any food product. It will open 
up a new export trade in an entirely new prod¬ 
uct. Instead of worrying about the decline in prices 
of silver, why do not the people living in the arid 
regions take up the cultivation of canaigre ? They 
would then have the “ gold bugs” begging for tLeir 
product. X X t 
England is often spoken of as the great grain con¬ 
suming country. The spectacle is presented of a 
dozen countries trying to crowd their surplus wheat 
into little England. Yet the English wheat market is 
a small thing comp ared with the American sugar mar¬ 
ket. In 1893 we consumed 1,891,911 tons of sugar or 
63 4-5 pounds per capita. Other countries supplied us 
with 1,609,911 tons. For years, Americans have been 
asking—why can we not produce the sugar here and 
save the vast sums that are now sent abroad ? The 
need of this new business in farming is more evident 
than ever now that wheat is so low. There is small 
hope for a return of good prices for wheat. The 
world’s consumption of fiour does not increase with 
the supply. New food substitutes are coming into use 
and new wheat fields are opening up. If a large part 
of the Western lands now in wheat could be profit¬ 
ably used for growing sugar beets, American farming 
would have a better balance. In theory, sugar is the 
most economical crop for the American wheat farmer 
to produce. What is the practical side of it ? Germany 
and France are now large exporters of sugar. The 
governments of those countries made it a special busi¬ 
ness to foster this industry. Can American farmers 
compete without government aid ? 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Do you want any of that seed corn offered by J. L. Anders, Ivanhoe, 
N. C.? Mr. Anders has sent us a samule of the corn, which Is 
certainly very line. 
John Bauhchbh, Ju., Freeport, Ill., asks only two 2-cent stamps 
fora64-paKe catalogue of his fancy poultry and seeds. It contains 
some raluable Information. 
Mil. Mapbs, the Electric hen man, has perfected that nest. As It Is 
now a hea can't possibly eat her eggs or be bothered by bad neigh¬ 
bors. See his advertisement. 
Ali, we said about W. & B. Douglas last week was true, except that 
their headquarters are at Middletown, Conn. You never will know all 
you should about spraying until you write for their catalogue. 
WB are often asked about hand corn planters. We use the Macom- 
ber planter, made by Duane 11. Nash. Millington, N J. We never 
knew this planter to skip a hill and that beats a hired man. It Is a 
flrst-rate tool. 
LAST WEEK Mr. Conger made a good point In saying ho used a 
marker that cuts deep and pulverizes the soil. Now that Is Just what 
Is done by the Darnell’s furrower and marker. The Inc Ians used to 
use a clam shell for scooping out a furrow. Darnell's tool works on 
the principle of a clam shell and beats all other tools for this work. 
Send to H. W. Doughten, Moorestown, N. J., for a circular. 
Variety 
of sizes 
suitable 
for 
all work. 
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Fair 
Highest i 
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'ACME’ ' Pulverizing Harrow, Clod Crusher «s"Le veler 
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_ smooth the ground, while at the same time curved 
coulters cultivate, lift and turn the entire surface 
of the soil. The backward slant of the coulters 
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Made entirely of cast steel and wrought iron 
and therefore practically indestructible. 
CHEAPEST RIDING HARROW ON 
-r-_ - EARTH—sells for about the same as an ordinary 
’ drag— eight dollars and upwards. 
N. B.—1 deliver free on board at distributing polntA 
~ SPNT ON TRTflT To responsible fanners, to be returned 
Vlt IXIi/lu at my expense If not satisfactory. 
DOJNE H. NASH, Sole Mtr„ 
MENTION THIS PAPER. 
STODDARD’S 
Babcock Milk Testers 
steam and hand POWER, 
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Send for Special Circular and tree Catalogue of Superior Dairy and ' 
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MOSELEY & STODDARD MFD. CO., RUTLAND, VT. 
Mention this paper. 
25c. for a Poultry Bookon Caponizing free. Send forC.Tt. 
M A R If P R Poultry Specialties. Capon sets $2 u[) 
mmilVtn ■W.H.WlGMORE,i07S.8thSt.,Pliila ,Pa. 
Ill lllTrn- Position by a young energetic man 
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B erkshire pigs for sale -Your^^ 
Boars and Sows, from highest grade Imported 
stock, ready for breeding. Ready to book orders on 
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S. C. PLLLMAN, Chester, N. J. 
Aberdeen-Angus Cattle 
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O’* Mention this paper, zah 
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DO YOU USE A CHURN? 
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It churns Easier, Quicker, 
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Every user's word for It. 
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The most humane, rapid and durable 
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