1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
THE NEW-PROCESS LIMES IN BORDEAUX 
MIXTURES. 
REQUISITES FOR SUCCESS.—In a recent num¬ 
ber of The R. N.-Y., page 227, I discussed the mak¬ 
ing of Bordeaux Mixture with what is now on the 
market as the “new-process” limes. The information I 
gave was largely theoretical. 1 have just been making 
some tests of several different kinds of these “new- 
process” limes to determine their qualities for making 
WELL-MADE BORDEAUX MIXTURES. Fig. 161. 
Bordeaux Mixture. To make a good Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture, it is necessary that the lime be so constituted 
chemically as to combine with the copper sulphate and 
neutralize it; then it is equally as essential that the 
combination be made in such a way as to produce a 
very fine-grained or flocculent precipitate, which will 
settle very slowly so as not to require constant agi¬ 
tation in the spray pump. Such an ideal Bordeaux 
Mixture can be easily made with any good stone lime, 
freshly slaked, provided both the lime and copper sul¬ 
phate are very much diluted before they are poured 
together. One correspondent has just described for me 
his method of making Bordeaux Mixture, which is 
simple and easily accomplished, and one that will pro¬ 
duce almost an ideal mixture. He says: “In mak¬ 
ing Bordeaux Mixture as we do in batches of 150 
gallons, we start with three barrels upon a platform 
elevated above the top of the sprayer tank, each barrel 
emptying into a trough common to all. Into one barrel 
we put 15 pounds of dissolved copper sulphate and fill 
the barrel with water; into another barrel from 18 to 20 
pounds of “new-process” lime is poured and the barrel 
is then filled with water; the third barrel is filled with 
clear water. After thoroughly agitating the contents 
of the barrels we open the faucets of all three and let 
them flow together into a spray tank, and get good re¬ 
sults, there being little sediment ever in the bottom of 
our tank, and the Bordeaux stands up well.” 
NEW PROCESS LIMES.—I have just tested four 
different brands of “new-process” limes, all of which 
were made from Dolomitic or magnesium limestones. A 
chemical analysis of these limes showed from 2.8 to 38 
per cent of magnesia, and the quicklime varied from 
40 to 60 per cent, the. remainder being largely water. 
One sample was the “limoid,” now recommended for 
making the kerosene-lime mixtures. Another sample 
was designated as “freshly-burned, finely-ground lime,” 
which would not keep more than three or four weeks 
in this condition. Ano*her S' mple, which was said to 
be five years old, had practically all air-slaked, and 
could not be used in making Bordeaux mixture, as 
will be shown later. All of these “new process” limes 
were tested beside a good stone lime, and also with the 
best stone finishing lime I could get. The test con¬ 
sisted simply of making a Bordeaux Mixture with the 
various limes according to the formula of five pounds 
of copper sulphate, five pounds of lime, and 50 gal¬ 
lons of water. Small batches were made up and poured 
into tall, glass cylinders and allowed to settle for vari¬ 
ous periods. In the illustrations are shown the results 
of these tes‘s af'.er the mixture had stood certain defi¬ 
nite times. In Figs. 161 and 162 all of the mixtures 
were properly made by pouring together dilute lime 
and dilute copper sulplr te solutions. It will be noted 
that after standing 2 \A hours, A is the best Bordeaux. 
It was made with the best stone finishing lime. B, C. 
D, and E were made with “new-process” limes, all mak¬ 
ing about an equally good Bordeaux Mixture, but not 
so good as that made with the best stone lime. At 
F is shown our attempt to make a Bordeaux Mixture 
with the five-year-old air-slaked “new-process” lime. It 
would net combine with the copper sulphate nor neu¬ 
tralize it and very soon settled to the bottom. After 
the mixtures had stood for six hours, C and E had set¬ 
tled considerably more than B and D. A is made with 
best stone lime (Canaan finishing lime) ; B with Seneca 
white, fine ground unslaked lime; C with limoid; D 
Field Force Pump new-process lime; E Seneca white 
new-process hydrated lime; F Seneca white new-process 
lime, which was five years old, and had air-slaked. 
In Fig 163 Bordeaux Mixtures which had stood for 
five hours are shown. X was not properly made, as 
the dry, “new-process” lime was dumped directly into 
the diluted copper sulphate solution. Contrast this 
with Y, which was properly made with the same lime. 
Z was a Bordeaux Mixture made with an ordinary 
good brand of stone lime, such as most fruit-growers 
doubtless get. Note how more flocculent the precipitate 
is in \ and Z than in X. The former Bordeaux Mix¬ 
tures would not need so much agitation in the spray 
tank and would not be so liable to clog the nozzles. 
AVOID AIR-SLAKED LIME.—Some other results 
of the tests are that one should never attempt to make * 
Bordeaux Mixture with air-slaked lime. I am in¬ 
formed that some unscrupulous dealers have put on the 
market air-slaked lime as “new-process” lime. It is 
evident from the tests that practically as good a Bor¬ 
deaux Mixture, both chemically and mechanically, can 
be made with the “new-process” limes as with ordi¬ 
nary stone lime. But it is very essential that the “new- 
process” limes be fresh and newly made. Just how long 
these limes can stand before air-slaking I do not know, 
but we have tested some that have stood in barrels for 
four or five months, and they seemed to work all 
right. I would not recommend, however, that any of 
the “new-process” limes be used when more than a 
year old. One can easily make a simple test which 
will soon determine whether the lime is good. Take 
a small quantity and make up a little Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture according to the formula given above, and use 
the ferro-cyanide test. Five cents’ worth of these poi¬ 
son crystals dissolved in a pint of water will last a 
season or two for testing. If the test liquid turns a 
dark brown color as soon as a few drops touch the 
MORE WELL-MADE MIXTURES. Fig. 162. 
Bordeaux, more lime must be added until the liquid 
does not change color. Litmus paper can be used also 
for determining when the sulphate is neutralized. If 
the five pounds of lime considerably more than neutral¬ 
izes the five pounds of copper sulphate, and the mixture 
does not settle very fast, it would be safe to purchase 
such lime in quantities for spraying. I would not buy 
my “new-process” limes without first making such a 
simple test, because, as shown above, they will all air- 
slake in time. Furthermore, by such a test, one could 
never be fooled into buying air-slaked lime for “new- 
process” lime. 
QUANT I TIES REQUIRED.—I was interested to 
know if it would take more “new-process lime than 
stone lime to make a good Bordeaux Mixture. I found 
that about one-half the quantity of stone lime, or about 
2 x /z pounds, was sufficient thoroughly to neutralize the 
five pounds of copper sulphate, but that an equal quan¬ 
tity of “new-process” lime, or about 21Z pounds, was 
not quite enough to overcome the acidity of the copper 
sulphate. This result was rather surprising, because I 
had thought that the formula did not call for such an 
excess of lime over enough to neutralize the copper 
sulphate. This result shows that by the use of the 
ferro-cyanide test, by which one can readily determine 
when enough lime has been added, that much lime can 
be saved and thus the mixture cheapened. It is always 
advisable, however, to add about as much more lime, 
especially during rainy seasons, when weather condi¬ 
tions act upon the spray after it is on the foliage, and 
unless there is plenty of lime considerable injury to 
the foliage may result. Doubtless the reason why it 
takes more “new-process” lime than stone lime to make 
a good Bordeaux Mixture is because the former limes 
are about one-third magnesia, which does not enter 
chemically into the Bordeaux Mixture. Fresh, “new- 
process” limes, except the one mentioned above, which 
was described as “freshly-burned and finely ground." 
are limes which are water-slaked dry. The lime just 
mentioned is not slaked, however, and when put into 
391 
water will finally slake, like stone lime. It is cheaper 
than the other “new-process” limes, but it will not 
keep so long in good condition, hence there would be 
more risk in getting it. 
ADVANTAGES OF NEW-PROCESS LIMES.— 
In brief, I was much surprised at the results of the 
above tests, and must change my opinion regarding 
these “new-process” limes for making Bordeaux Mix¬ 
ture. They cost a little more than stone lime, but when 
you buy a barrel, all of the material can be used rather 
than one-half or two-thirds of it in the center of the 
barrel, as in the case of stone lime. Then it is much 
easier simply to dump the lime into water and stir it 
up without having to wait for it and watch it while 
slaking. If I were a fruit grower, I would use the 
“new-process” limes, but would first make sure by the 
simple test described above that I was getting com¬ 
paratively fresh material. But I would not dump the 
dry lime into the copper sulphate solution, even when 
the latter was much diluted. I am receiving many in¬ 
quiries regarding these limes, and have gained much 
information from the experiments described above. I 
hope the facts have been put in such a way that, by the 
aid of the illustrations, farmers will be able to get a 
better notion regarding the proper making of Bordeaux 
Mixture, and that the comparative tests of these “new- 
process” limes with stone lime may be of as much 
benefit to the public as they have been to me. 
M. V. SLINGERLAND. 
THE PASSING OF THE NOON HOUR. 
We, out here in Iowa, are trying to keep up with 
the times as well as we can. The R. F. D. lays (he 
Chicago dailies the same day they are printed on our 
table at noon, when we return from the field; giving 
us the very latest news, both home and foreign. How 
differently that noon hour is spent than before the 
R. F. D. came. We then got our mail once or twice a 
week. Taking two or three weekly papers, we would 
read them through and have a little rest spell every 
noon. But now, as soon as we return from the field 
and horses are put into the barn and fed, we go to 
the house if dinner is ready we eat. If not, to-day’s 
mail receives our attention. And as soon as dinner is 
over we must see how the Japs arc getting along. Then 
there are the weather reports, and the markets. There 
is some news from Washington to be looked at. Some 
foreign news, too. We have to read how they are 
getting along with the beef trust investigation, and how 
Kansas is getting along with the Standard Oil fight. 
Then the old Rural New-Yorker has just cotne 
and we must glance over it and other good papers a 
minute, but we will have to leave them until night. 
Well we have spent more time than we intended, so 
we drop our papers and away to the field. No idling 
now. The R. F. D.’s coming brought an end to that 
old time idle rest spell at noon ; that was either spent 
smoking the pipe or lying dreamily watching the fleecy 
clouds pass and change. 
Yes, that swee* idle restful hour lias gone out of 
existence, just as many machines and modes of doing 
things have gone, substituted by something better. 
The R. F. D. makes a busier life for the farmer, 
but it broadens his views. Gives him more to think 
about. Things and events thousands of miles away 
now interest him deeply that before he knew little 
of and cared less for. Yes, the R. F. D. makes the 
farmer a busier and up-to-date man. Jt used to be the 
noon hour was the time to go and see our neighbors on 
some little business, while there we would talk awhile. 
Maybe hear something good; sometimes something bad. 
And if anything interesting when we came home we 
would go into the house and tell the women folks. 
A CONTRAST IN MIXTURES. Fig. 163. 
Spending a little time in telling it and talking it over. 
Not so now. It is now "Please give us Mr. So-and- 
So.” In about 10 seconds we hear a "Hello!” In 
about a minute we have stated our wants and received 
his answer and then “goodbye.” 
This brings to mind that there is always something 
useful in The Rural New Yorker. Some time ago I 
needed help very badly. Could not find a man anywhere 
and wages away up. Noticed in R. N.-Y., that im¬ 
migrant labor bureaus of New York furnished help. 
Wrote them and got what I wanted, b. d. 
Iowa. 
