3 oz. carbonate of copper,

1 lb. carbonate of ammonia, and

50 gals. water.

Mix the carbonate of copper with the carbonate of ammonia, pulverized, and dissolve the mixture in 2 quarts of hot water. When they are wholly dissolved, add the solution to enough water to make the whole quantity fifty gallons. This preparation has been found to be better and cheaper than that made according to the original formula, which is as follows:

Dissolve 3 oz. carbonate of copper in 1 qt. aqua ammonia (22°B.)* and add the solution to 25 gals. of water.

Dr. Thaxter of the Connecticut Experiment Station suggests that a very large saving may be made by preparing the carbonate of copper by the following method, instead of buying it, as its market price is much greater than that of the materials necessary for its preparation. Take 2 lbs. of sulphate of copper and dissolve it in a large quantity of hot water; in another barrel or tub, dissolve 24 lbs. of carbonate of soda (sal soda) in hot water. When both are dissolved and cooled, pour the soda solution into the copper solution, stirring rapidly. There will result a blue-green precipitate of carbonate of copper, which must be allowed to settle to the bottom of the vessel. Now draw off the clear liquid above the sediment, fill the vessel with fresh water and stir up the contents thoroughly. After the copper carbonate has once more settled to the bottom, again draw off the clear fluid above. The carbonate may now be removed from the vessel and dried, when it is ready for use. From the amount of bluestone and sal-soda given above will be produced one pound of copper carbonate, and the amount of each necessary to produce any given amount of copper carbonate is easily calculated.

Sulphate of Copper is used in solutions of varying strength for certain special cases.

Sulphide of Potassium, known also as sulphuret of potassium or liver of sulphur, has been found useful in the treatment of diseases caused by those fungi known as Powdery Mildews, especially on plants grown under glass. It is ordinarily used in the proportion of half an ounce of the sulphide to one gallon of water.

MATERIALS. For the convenience of persons who may wish to purchase the necessary materials for the preparation of fungicides, *Dealers usually handle Ammonia water of a strength of 24° B. (=22.5% Ammonia) or of 26° B. (=26.5% Ammonia). To reduce these to the required strength, 22° B. (=19% Ammonia), add four parts of water to ten of Aqua Ammonia of 26° or two parts of water to ten parts of 24° Aqua Ammonia.

the writer has communicated with several reliable houses in some of the larger cities of the state, and has received from those named below favorable replies as to their readiness to fill orders promptly, and as to prices. He can, therefore, recommend these firms to persons wishing fungicide supplies, without in any respect implying that there are not many others equally reliable:

Weeks and Potter Co., 360 Washington St., Boston.

Messrs. E. & F. King, Boston.

Talbot Dyewood and Chemical Co., 24 & 26 Middle St., Lowell. Jerome Marble & Co., Worcester.

Messrs. H. & J. Brewster, 463 Main St., Springfield.

The writer wishes to express here his thanks to those leading Agriculturists in several parts of the state who have furnished him the addresses of these and other dealers in chemicals.

Concerning the cost of the various materials named above, no very exact figures can be given since prices vary with the state of the market and according to the quantity ordered. Prices per pound are considerably higher for small quantities than for larger ones and the substances cost much less in original packages than in smaller lots. A large saving can be effected if several persons will combine in ordering what they need, both in the cost per pound of the chemicals and in cost of transportation. The following quotations may be given as the approximate prices of the various substances in small lots, at retail; and discounts from these prices will increase with the amount of the order:

APPLICATION. The one of the above fungicides chosen as most available under existing conditions is now to be applied to the plants which it is desired to protect against disease. In the special case of the grain smuts, the only effectual treatment is that applied to the seed-grain, since these fungi depend for their propagation upon the spores which adhere to the grain and germinate with it. They cannot attack the host-plant after it has fairly passed the seedling stage, and the adhering spores may be killed before planting without injury to the seed. But ordinarily the fungicide must be thoroughly applied to the whole of each growing plant in the form of a fine spray, so

that the plant is completely wet, but not flooded. Perhaps a practical measure of the proper amount of a fungicide to be applied to a plant may be obtained by stopping as soon as the plant is wholly wet, and before the solution begins to drip from it. In order to insure a fine and even spray and economy of materials, especial care should be used in securing proper

Nozzles. The ordinary spraying nozzles used with hose or with small hand pumps are utterly unsuited to this purpose. The best form is, perhaps, that known as the Vermorel nozzle, which is furnished with several of the pieces of apparatus to be described later, or may be purchased separately. It is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, following, at the end of the brass rod which is held in the hand of the operator and is known as the spraying lance. This nozzle gives a very fine and steady spray, which may be instantly cut off, and is the best suited for the Bordeaux mixture, since it has an attachment for promptly freeing it of clogging particles. Another excellent nozzle for the other fungicides described, which are clear solutions, is the Nixon nozzle, shown in Fig. 1.

Upon the use of these or other equally efficient nozzles, depends very much of the success of treatment with fungicides.

Pumps. For supplying the necessary pressure to drive the liquid through the nozzle in the form of spray, some form of force pump is necessary. The form chosen must depend on the amount of work to be done and the character of the plants to be treated. We may distinguish three general types. The knapsack type is suitable for almost any small job, the importance of which does not justify the purchase of a more expensive apparatus, and is especially adapted to use upon low-growing plants cultivated in hills or rows. These

machines have a tank holding a few gallons with a pump worked by a lever with one hand, while the other hand directs the nozzle, the apparatus being strapped upon the back of the operator.

Of this sort is the Eureka sprayer, made by Adam Weaber & Son of Vineland, N. J., and costing about $21. Prof. B. T. Galloway, Chief of the Division of Vegetable Pathology of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, has recently devised a similar machine, shown in Fig. 2, and in practical operation in Fig. 3. It is not patented and can be made by any good metal-worker. The writer will be

glad to furnish detailed specifications for this machine to any one who may desire them. It may be purchased of Albinson & Co., 2026 Fourteenth St., or of Leitch & Sons, 1214 D. St., both of Washington, D. C.. for $14. Dr. Thaxter of the Connecticut Experiment Station has devised a combination of a copper wash-boiler, a "Hydronette" force pump, and a Vermorel nozzle which has given him much satisfaction, and may be fitted by any tinsmith. Its cost is a little over $8, he states. The writer will be glad to furnish, on request, details of its construction.

The hand-cart type of pump consists of a large reservoir, representing the body of the cart, connected with a force pump, and the whole mounted on two or three wheels with a haudle for pulling or pushing. An excellent example of this form of apparatus is the Little Giant" machine made by the Nixon Nozzle and Machine Co. of Dayton, Ohio, which costs, with hose and Climax" nozzle, $35. It is shown in Fig. 4. Machines of this type usually allow

the use of two streams at once.

6.