The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-08-04
SPRAY POTATOES TO
PREVENT LATE BLIGHT
Unsprayed Crop Threatened Unless High
ly Destructive FUNGUS Disease is
Controlled by Use of Bor-
deaux Mixture.

deaux Mixture.
Potato late blight, fungous disease,
capable of causing enormous destruction,
has appeared in several states from
Maine to New Jersey and West Virginia,
according to the United States depart.
ment of agriculture. The blight occurred
early this year and reports show that it
is more prevalent than usual, While in
some fields the blight is already beyond
control, prompt spraying with Bordeaux
mixture will in most cases, still be effec.
tive, the specialists advise. Unless pc.
tato growers spray thoroughly with Bor-
deatlx mixture, they fear that the large
potato crop that has been promised will
not be realized, as late blight, if uncon.
trolled, is capable of reducing the ma
tional crop at the rate of 100000 bush.
els per day.
Potatoes in the northern states are
just beginning to form tubers. TO pro-
duce q large crop the tops must be kept
healthy till frost, as the tubers increase
in size most rapidly during the last
weeks of the season. The late blight
kills the tops and causes the tllbers to
rot in the ground. The blight starts in
a few centers in the field where diseased
potatoes were planted. Brown spots de-
yelop on the leaves and whitish mildew
appears on their under side. Frequent
rains and warm, muggy weather furnish
ideal conditions for the development of
the blight under which the foliage blights
rapidly, the leaves hang blackened and
dead and the tubers begin to rot Dry |
and hot weather on the other hand tends !
TO check the progress of the blight but |
growers should spray Immediately and
not trust their crops entirely to improve
ment in weather conditions.
As an effective preventive of late
blight Bordeaux mixture has proved its
value for Is years Every grower from
Maine to Michigan and south to Virginia
is urged to spray at once and repeated
ly.
How to Make Bordeaux Mixture.
Home made Bordeaux mixture is best
Use
Bluestone copper sulphate) ...... lbs.
Quicklime .................... lbs.
Water NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. so gallons
Prepare the copper sulphate by sus-
pending it in a gunny sack just below. }
he surface of several gallons of water in
/ clean barrel When the sulphate is
dissolved which requires three or four !
hours, remove the sack and stir into the
,arrel enough additional water to make
Exactly 25 gallons of the copper solution. !
Prepare the lime by shaking it slowly /,
ind thoroughly in clean barrel, strain, i,
nd add enough additional water to make :
xactly Is gallons of lime milk. Stir !,
thoroughly. !
Pour the two ingredients together into .
mother barrel, or better directly into :
he spray tank, if it win hold 50 gallons. :
t is highly important to stir the mix !
ure very thoroughly and TO strain both !,
Ingredients before they are combined, as
therwise clogging the spray nozzles
hight result. Use copper or bronze wire
trainer of is meshes TO the inch. Do
OF put copper sulphate or Bordeaux p
lixture into tin or iron vessels; Use
,ood or copper containers. Mix the Bor
eaux as needed and apply at once. 1t
never so good after it has settled. OF
Where poisons such as arsenate of Ii
,ad are to be combined with Bordeaux G
fixture, add the poison after the two h,
buttons are mixed. Then stir well II
Stock Bordeaux Solutions. b.
Those who use Bordeaux mixture fire. &c
lently and in quantity viii find it con 60
snient to keep concentrated stock solu fir
ons on hand, as these keep indefinitely to