New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 417 
In the use of these new sprays for the blister-mite, fruit 
growers generally have been very successful. In the operations 
against the scale, varying results have been reported. The 
failures for the most part have been largely due to attending 
circumstances rather than to any deficiencies in the leading 
brands. In the light of experimental tests and the successful 
operations of many orchardists it appears that the best com- 
mercial lime-sulphur solutions used at effective strengths are 
efficient substitutes for the home-made wash for these two 
pests. The history of these proprietary mixtures in the West 
indicates that in this State there will be in the future a more 
extensive employment of these preparations, largely because of 
their efficient properties and of the convenience in handling 
them. 
NATURE OF THE MIXTURES. 
The commercial mixtures, like the home-prepared wash, are 
derived from lime and sulphur. These ingredients, when used 
alone, dissolve only slightly in water, but when they are boiled 
together, they unite, forming a series of compounds which are 
very soluble. These make the lime-sulphur wash or spray which 
is employed as an insecticide. The commercial brands differ 
from the home-made wash principally in that they are ina 
highly concentrated state, which has made it feasible to prepare 
a sulphur wash as a commercial commodity, to be stored, 
shipped and sold for insecticidal purposes. The most concen- 
trated of the leading commercial brands are approximately 
eight or more times as strong as the home-made mixtures. The 
best of these preparations also differ in appearance from the 
wash made by the fruit grower himself, in that the heavy sedi- 
ment or mud has been excluded, either by settling or filtering. 
This process takes out the insoluble ingredients and leaves the 
solution a clear, sparkling, reddish or deep cherry color. The 
liquid contains the soluble lime-sulphur compounds, which give 
the wash its insecticidal value. Another important property 
of the more carefully prepared of the commercial brands, un- 
like the home-boiled wash, is their comparative freedom from 
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