Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1906-05-14
BORDEAUX MIXTURE is RECON-
MENDED BY STATION.
HOW TO MAKE AND USE
Full Directions for Compromising
Where to Begin, When to Follow
up-Why Some Farmers FAIL
Some Timely Hints on an Import
ant Subject.

AS the potato bug and blight sea-
son approaches, every farmer has an
eve for proposed remedies. The Wis
consin experiment station recon-
mends the Bordeaux mixture as quite
effective The formula for it in
their experiments for a number OF
years past is: Copper sulfate, eight
pounds: fresh lime, twelve pounds;
water, 100 gallons. This strength
will not injure the foliage and II
rightly made will be effective.
These directions for making the
Bordeaux mixture, says Professor
sandsten and J. G. Milward, should
be strictly followed to obtain the best
results: Dissolve four pounds OF cop
per sulfate (blue stone, blue VltrloD
in twenty-five gallons of water, sus-
pending it IN a coarse gunn5 sack
near the surface of the water. In
wooden pail slack six pounds OF fresh
quick lime in sufficient water, add
enough water to make twenty-five gal
ions and then slowly pour the Two
solutions simultaneously into the bar
rel from which it is used. If a larger
tank is used, proportionately larger
quantities of materials should be
taken. Before pouring the lime solu-
ton it should be strained through
coarse gunny sack, otherwise particles
of rock and undissolved lime will get
into the mixture and clog the noz-
zles in spraying. 1t is very import
ant that the two ingredients are
mixed as described, so as to get the
proper combination of copper sulfate
and lime.
The impression prevails among
farmers that Bordeaux mixture is
remedy that will kill the potato
blight. This is wrong. Bordeaux
mixture is a preventive only and not
cure, and in order to be effective, 1t
should be applied before the disease
has gained a foothold On the vines.
The first application should be made
when the vines are about six inches
tall. so as to prevent the termination
of any spores that happen to light
on the foliage. The subsequent ap-
plications should be made at inter
walls of two or three weeks, depend
ing upon the season, the object being
to keep the foliage covered with
film of the Bordeaux mixture at all
times. From experiments and obser-
vations we have learned that moist
and warm season is more favorable to
a development of the disease than a
dry and cool one, and the grower
should carefully study the seasonal
conditions and regulate his spraying
operations accordingly.
The most common failure is that
the spraying is done too late or at
improper times. Many FARMERS do
not start to spray before the disease
has made considerable progress and
it is then next to impossible to stop
the ravages of the disease. Others
spray regardless of weather condi-
tons. 1t is necessary for the best
results to repeat the application
should a heavy rain follow immediate
ly, as it will wash off large portion
of the mixture, thus leaving the fol
iage unprotected, and the next reg
ular application may be too late.
The application must be thorough;
Indifferent work produces Indifferent
results. All the vines should be
covered even though it requires more
time and materials.
The Bordeaux mixture is generally
improperly made and a number of
failures can be traced directly to this
cause alone. Hence it behooves the
farmers to follow closely the direc-
tons given for the making of the
Bordeaux mixture.