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Wisconsin State Horticultural Society / Annual report of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society for the year 1910
Volume XL, Part II (1910)
Richards, M. W.
How to make Bordeaux mixture, pp. 150-153
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Page 152
WISCONSIN STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. and the amount of spray used will vary with the leaf develop- ment of the trees. After the materials are at hand the next thing to consider is the proper utensils which are to be used in compounding the mixture. If only a small amount of spray material is to be made we will need three 50 gal. barrels, 2 large wooden pails, such as candy pails, and a few gunny bags. If the mixture is to be made on a large scale, as for a commercial orchard, larger and more pretentious utensils will be needed. The tanks should be elevated so that the materials will not have to be lifted bitt may flow by means of gravity. In making Bordeaux Mixture use only wooden or earthen utensils as the Copper Sulphate corrodes metals. There are numerous formulae for the manufacture of Bor- deaux Mixture and they will vary as the use to which the mix- ture is to be put. The formula generally used and the one we will use as an example is the 4-4-50 formula. It must be re- membered, however, that the ingredients of Bordeaux Mixture unite in certain definite proportions and that the proportions are designated by the formulae which should always be followed closely. In making small amounts of Bordeaux Mixture the quantities of materials called for in the formula are weighed out and the Copper Sulphate is dissolved in water. The lime is slaked and the two then diluted each to 25 gals. They are then poured simultaneously through a gunny bag into a barrel. The result- ing mixture is Bordeaux. If any quantity of mixture is to be made, however, stock solutions are resorted to. Certain definite amounts of materials are weighed out and made up to certain volumes. As 50 lbs. Copper Sulphate made up to 50 gal. water and 50 gal. lime also made up to 50 gal. of water. Then 1 gal. of the stock solu- tion contains 1 lb. of the material. In dissolving, the 50 lbs. are tied in a gunny bag and suspended at the top of a bar- rel of water. As the Copper Sulphate is heavier than water it sinks to the bottom as it dissolves and the water around the bag is thus always in an unsaturated state. The lime is slaked in a slaking box as in the shallow box it is easier to handle than when in a barrel. The lime should have enough water on it to keep it from burning but not enough to "drown" it. If lime burns or "drowns" all of it does not slake and the stock j 152
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