ORGHARD AND GARDEN PEST PREVENTIVES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1756, 1 November 1905, Page 62

ORGHARD AND GARDEN PEST PREVENTIVES.

A correspondent of the “Australasian ’ gives the following compendious instructions for the preparation and use of these. They have all been given again and again by our own Department of Agriculture and various other authorities, but their repetition here is not unseasonable. They are designed for spring use and have all stood the test of practical work. Where leaves are yet young and tender it will be wise to observe the caution of our Agricultural Department, which recommends that Bordeaux Mixture be made on the 4 —4 —4.0 formula. BORDEAUX MIXTURE. Ihe Bordeaux mixture is the bestknown remedy for black spot on the apple and pear, shot-hole fungus and scab of the apricot, peach, and plum, peach and plum leaf rust, aird peach leaf ourl. Spraying should be done just when the fruit blossoms have fallen, and before the leaf buds fully expand. The most approved formula is 6.4.4 o—that is, 61b of bluest one, 41b of fresh lime, and 40 gallons of water. The lime requires to be fresh, in lumps. The proper way to prepare Bordeaux mixture is to dissolve bluestone and lime separately, add water to each to make up 20 gallons exactly, and pour both together into a third vessel, or direct into the spraying barrel, and not one into the other. In dissolving the lime it is better 'to pour only a pint at a time on it until it is a paste. Then add the water to make 20 gallons, keeping at well stirred, and pour the liquid through a fine sieve into the spraying barrel, so as to keep hack all grit likely to clog the spraying nozzle. As the two mixtures are poured in together they should he kept well stirred, to ensure perfect combination. There ought to he enough lime to neutralise the sulohate of copper. There are two simple tests to ascertain whether this jhas been done. Insert the blade of a bright- table knife into the mixture for one or- two minutes. If the blade comes out coated. with copper the mixture is not safe, and more milk of lime must be added. If the knife remains bright it is safe to use. Another test is to take a saucerful of the freshly-made Bordeaux mixture, hold it up to the light, and breathe on it gently for 30 or 40 seconds. If the mixture contains enough lime a thin film (carbonate of lime) will form on the surface. If no film forms add more milk of lime, and test again. An iron drum well covered is a good receptacle to keep lime in. It should be stored in a dry room. Bluestone should be dissolved in a wooden or earthenware vessel.

Spraying should "be done in dry, calm weather. If heavy rain falls soon after the spraying should be repeated. The spraying nozzles should be kept free from grit, and the tree should be covered with a fine spray, and not drenched, or the mixture runs to waste and carries off the ingredients, which should adhere to the tree. PARIS GREEN. Paris green is an effective remedy for codlin moth and for leaf-eating insects, like the vine caterpillar. One pound of Paris green to 160 gallons of water, to whidh 41b of lime and lib of salt are added, is an approved formula for this work when the Paris green mixture is used alone. Many onchardists, however, combine Paris green with Bordeaux mixture, which then serves the double purpose of checking both black spot and codlin moth. The Paris green in either case is first made into a fine paste. If the mixture is to be used alone the lime is slaked, as described for Bordeaux mixture, and then diluted with a few gallons of water to make a “milk of lime” liquid, and 'the Paris green poured into it after it is strained through a fine sieve, throughly mixed with it, and the combined mixture poured into water- to make 160 gallons, and the salt added and dissolved. If the spray pump only holds 40 gallons, onefourth of the above quantities are used, and like proportions to- suit smaller receptacles. Paris green should he keptwell stiired while spraying is in operation. RESIN COMPOUNDS. Resin compounds are useful for keeping all scale insects in check, such as orange, aleander, and olive scales, and the mussel scale which attacks apple One recipe is:—Resin, 21b; washing soda, 21b ; soft soap, lib ; water, 10 gallons. Crush the resin to a fine powder. Boil a couple of gallons of water. Add first, and dissolve the soda.

and then gradually add the resin. Keep the water well stirred till the resin is dissolved; then add the soft soap, and pour the mixture into 10 gallons of water and stir well. A coarser spray can be used than for Bordeaux, and the tree or plant well saturated' with the mixture. TOBACCO WATER. There is nothing better than a strong decoction of tobacco- water for all kinds of aphides, including peach aphis, woolly aphis of the apple, rose aphis, and the aphis which attacks the young, tender shoots of pear trees. The old formula was to let lib of waste tobacco simmer in two gallons of water in a closed vessel until the nicotine was extracted, add a couple of pounds of soft soap, and make up to 10 gallons of water. Where only small quantities are wanted this may he done. A much more simple plan, where extensive spraying has to he undertaken, is to soak for a week or so the waste tobacco in a. cask at the rate of lib to the gallon, and then dilute the liquid with an equal quantity of water, or more if it is found a -weaker strength will do the work. Waste tobacco can bo purchased very cheaply from the tobacco factories, and consists of trimmings of leaf and stem, not the manufactured article. The Governmenttobacco stemmery at Wangaratta usually has large quantities for sale. The merit of tobacco water is that no matter. how strong it may be it- will not hurt the most tender foliage. The firstspraying, especially for peach aphis, which is very troublesome, requires to be followed by a second and third spray- i ing at intervals of two or three days. There are other costly remedies in use for peach aphis, but none more effective than tobacco water, if it is effectively applied. And the same may be said of the woolly aphis of the apple. POISON FOR NIGHT-EATING GRUBS, SLUGS, ETC, A very destructive grub often causes serious injury to freshly-plainted vines, especially in sandy soil. They lie hidden during the day just under the surface at the base of the vine, and; feed at night. These and to some extentslugs may he poisoned in the following way:—Take 201 b bran: cheap treacle, 1 quart; Pa its green, 21b. Mix the Paris green with the bran dry. Mix the treacle well with half a gallon of hot water, and pour this over the bran, and add just enough water to make a good mash, and colour the bran green throughout. Spread it thinly in the evening around the base of the plants attacked. It will kill the grubs of? wholesale.