AN IRISH REMEDY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 21

AN IRISH REMEDY.

Mr J. Jamieson, of Jamieson and Son, of | Christchurch, recently communicated with the well-known London firm ot M'Douga!! in i-eference to tlis blight, and in reply has received the following letter: — " From the cuttings you send us it appears that the potato blight which is giving trouble in New Zealand is the same diseaseas that which has car.end such ha.voc at different lime's in Ireland. The disease has been fairly effectually coped with in Ireland by means of spraying a solution of copper sulphate and lime, and cojaper sulphate and washing soda. We are sending you a few of the leaflets issued by the Home Government upon the disease, which you will probably ■find useEul and interesting. r ihe spraying is dona by various machines, worked either by hand or hoi se- power, according to the acreage to be dealt with. For small piots of potatoes a knapsack spray would be quite sufficient. _ With this spray the man carries it on his back, pumps with one hand, and guide? the spray nozzle with the other. For larger acreage there are various devices which can be attached to an ordinary farm cart. One- of the most common in use consists of a barrel or reservoir to hold the solution. In connection with this is a pump, having five, cix, or more jets so fixed to the tail of the cart that each jet sprays one tow of potatoes. The car is drawn along the loads, and the man standing in the cart works the- hand pump. More expensive machines exist, by means of which the pumps are worked from the axle as the machine is drawn along, but such expensive machines aro not necessary, as the power required is small, and the arrangement fixed on an ordinary cart gets over a lot of ground m a day." In the leaflet enclosed, which is issxtcd by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, various methods for dealing with blight are explained. The following instructions are given in regard to using sulphate of copper and washing soda (the latter being- an alternative to lime): — "The mixture is made in the following proportions : 21b sulphate of copper of 98 per cent, purity^ 2^lb pure washing soda, and 10 gallons water. Or, if a 40-gallon paraffin barrel of the mixture is to be prepared, the following qtiantities will be required — namely, 81b sulphate of copper, 101b washing soda, 40 gallons water. To prepare this mixture proceed to dissolve the 81b of sulphate of copper in 35 gallons of water in the paraffin barrel. Dissolve the 101b of washing soda in five gallons of water in a separate vessel. Then pour the washing soda .solution slowly into the copper sulphate solution in the barrel, stirring continuously. The mixture should then be rpady for use, bufc in order to secure the best results the blue litmus paper test should also be applied to it. If the paper turns red more washing soda must be dissolved and added in small quantities at a time to the mixture, until fresh paper put into the solution remains blue. It is then quite ready for application. The following points should be kept in mind : — (1) All the vessels coming in contact with the sulphate of copper should be of wood, and not of metal ; (2) it will save much time and annoyance if every possible precaution is taken to have the mixture free from grit, or any other foreign matter which would stop the muzzles of the sprayers (for this reason the water used should be drained through a piece of canvas or other suitable cloth) ; (3) the milk of lime or washing soda solution should always be poured into the sulphate of copper, and not com-ersely ; (4-) effective stirring in every stage of the operation is most essential to siice- 3^ ; (5) sulphate of copper is poi&onous therefore the vessels in which sulphate of copp&r mixtures have been proi)a)o-l should r,ot afterwards bo used to hold food or water for consumption." The potato blight is making sad havoc amongst the crop ac the Kokatalii disi.net (We-t Coast). Potatoes, which were looking nice and green a fp\v days ago, are now turning completely black, so it -v, ill mean a serious loss to farmers throughout the district. The potato blight, which has affected a number of the crops in this district (says the West Coast Times), promises to prove not to be an unmised trouble, aa the bli&hi;..

is now attacking the gorse and blackberry growth, which was threatening several of the faims. IXVERCARGIIiIi, March 13. Mr Kirk, Government biologist, finds the potato diseare pre\alent right down to the Bluff. It is not so bad as further north, the crop being later, and he urges growers to spray at once, as by doing so they may avoid heavy losses.