CONN 
 
 43 
 .E22 
 
 no. 102 
 
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 LYRASIS members and Sloan Foundation 
 
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G, E.&. Library. Cop. 2. 
 
 H3 
 
 Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 
 
 NEW HAVEN, CONN. 
 BULLETIN No. 102. 
 
 MARCH, 1890. 
 
 The Bulletins and Reports of this Station are mailed free to 
 every citizen of Connecticut who applies for them. 
 
 FUNGICIDES. 
 
 By Roland Thaxter, Mycologist. 
 
 This Bulletin is designed to call the attention of farmers to the 
 importance of gaining some practical knowledge of the use of 
 fungicides and to furnish brief directions for this purpose. More 
 detailed information on the subject, adapted to special diseases, 
 will be furnished by the Station on application ; and, when prac- 
 ticable, personal attention will be given in such cases if desired. 
 
 The advantage resulting from the application of fungicides has 
 been so thoroughly and repeatedly demonstrated in connection 
 with black rot and mildews of the grape, that their use may be 
 recommended without reservation in these cases. The same may 
 be said of numerous other similar diseases upon which experi- 
 ments have been tried, or which, from the known life-history of 
 the fungus producing them, may be safely assumed to be suscep- 
 tible to a like treatment. In view of the fact, however, that the 
 use of fungicides is an innovation in the agriculture of this State, 
 
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 the Station would not recommend any one who has had no 
 previous experience in the matter to make use of them on a large 
 scale at first; but to test their effectiveness for himself, by a 
 smaller and carefully conducted preliminary experiment ; so that, 
 by making a direct comparison between the results of treatment 
 and no treatment, he may form his opinion as to the value of the 
 application from personal experience. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to remark that it is of the first im- 
 portance to know definitely, before making any such trial, what 
 disease is to be treated, and application to the Station for 
 information on the subject is advised : since a confusion in the 
 mind of the experimenter between two somewhat similar dis- 
 eases, like the black rot and anthracnose of the grape, might lead 
 to a mere waste of labor and material in carrying out the treat- 
 ment. It should be remembered also that the application, to be 
 effectual, must, in the majority of cases, be made for the purpose 
 of prevention, not of cure ; so that everything necessary for the 
 purpose should be ready by the first of May or earlier. The 
 publications of the U. S. Department of Vegetable Pathology, 
 which may be obtained on application to the Department of 
 Agriculture at Washington, and contain much valuable informa- 
 tion on the subject, should also be consulted in this connection. 
 
 Of the somewhat considerable number of substances which have 
 been used as fungicides the two which may be most safely recom- 
 mended for general use are the Bordeaux Mixture and the 
 Ammoniacal Carbonate of Copper Solution, the formulas for 
 which are as follows : 
 
 Bordeaux Mixture. 
 
 Sulphate of copper (blue vitriol, blue stone) 6 lbs. 
 
 Quick lime 4 lbs. 
 
 Water 22 gals. 
 
 Dissolve the sulphate of copper in two gallons of hot water to 
 hasten the solution, which is also facilitated if the sulphate is 
 pulverized. Dilute this solution with fourteen gallons of water. 
 Slake the lime, which must be fresh (i. e. not partly air slaked), 
 slowly, with six gallons of water, stirring the mixture while so 
 doing to a smooth paste. After this is slightly cooled, pour it 
 slowly into the copper solution, stirring the whole rapidly at the 
 same time. 
 
 For use this mixture must be stirred and strained through fine 
 brass or copper gauze. A small piece of the latter, tacked over 
 
the bottom of a salt or strawberry box, is sufficient for the pur- 
 pose, and the straining is easily and rapidly done if the mixture 
 is poured slowly upon the gauze from a slight elevation (two or 
 three feet), which avoids clogging the meshes of the strainer. 
 Mixing, etc., should be done in wooden vessels, since the sub- 
 stances corrode iron or tin. 
 
 Ammoniacal Carbonate of Copper. 
 
 Carbonate of copper 3 oz. 
 
 Commercial ammonia (22°) ; lqt. 
 
 Water 22 gals. 
 
 Add the ammonia to the carbonate and when dissolved dilute 
 to twenty-two gallons with water, forming a clear solution. 
 
 If these substances are properly prepared there need be no fear 
 of any injury to the foliage resulting from their application. The 
 Bordeaux mixture when applied to vineyards has, however, the 
 disadvantage of frequently injuring the fruit by adhering to the 
 berries at the time of harvest. Mr. Galloway has suggested that 
 this may be avoided by using the carbonate of copper for the 
 last or the last two applications ; since it is free from this objec- 
 tion. A practical method of removing the Bordeaux Mixture 
 from the clusters has also been tried by Dr. Neale at the Delaware 
 Experiment Station by treating the injured clusters with highly 
 diluted vinegar, two quarts of vinegar to ten gallons of water. 
 By immersing the clusters in this solution for a few moments 
 and rinsing twice in clear water the stains were effectually re- 
 moved without appreciable injury to the bloom of the clusters, at 
 a total expense of fifty cents per thousand pounds. 
 
 Apparatus for Spraying. — The first requisite for the purpose is 
 a force pump of some sort, of which the inner fittings, at least 
 must be of brass, to avoid rapid corrosion by the substances 
 sprayed. For spraying, when it is to be done by one man with- 
 out assistance, a good machine, which combines a proper force pump 
 with a supply of the matei'ial used, is the " Eureka " Sprayer manu- 
 factured by Adam Weaber & Son, Vineland, N. J., the reservoir 
 of which, made of copper and furnished with a strainer, is carried, 
 knapsack fashion, on the back, and contains a pump furnished 
 with a large air chamber which ensures a perfectly steady stream. 
 The pump is worked with the least possible labor by means of a 
 lever held in the right hand, while the left carries a rod which 
 directs the stream from the nozzle at its end. The chief objection 
 
to this machine is its expense (|20.60 and freight), and to obviate 
 this the cheaper apparatus figured below, has been devised and 
 has been used with satisfaction during the past season. This con- 
 sists of an ordinary copper wash boiler of the smallest size and a 
 force pump of the " hydronette " or " aquanette " pattern. A piece 
 not quite large enough to admit the hose of the hydronette is cut 
 
 out from the edge of the boiler cover at e, and a short collar of tin 
 soldered into it with a slot broad enough to allow the hose to be 
 pushed into it sideways. (This socket is misdrawn in the cut, the 
 broken rim of the cover not being connected vertically with edges 
 of the collar as they should be.) The hose when pushed into the 
 socket therefore projects just enough to be firmly held against 
 the side of the boiler when the cover is shut down. A couple of 
 wire catches may be necessary to hold the cover on firmly, if it is 
 not very tight ; and in addition the boiler should be fitted with 
 straps as in the cut, or in any other convenient manner so that it 
 can be carried on the back of the operator. 
 
 Since pumps of the " hydronette " pattern do not throw a steady 
 stream, acting only when the piston is driven back, some appliance 
 is necessary to produce an even, continuous spray. This is very 
 readily provided as shown by the cut. A piece of f -inch heavy but 
 elastic rubber "tubing ".(6) — hose will not answer — is fastened to 
 a " Vermorel " nozzle (a) at one end (x) and to the hydronette noz- 
 zle (d) at the other end (x), by winding it tightly with a few inches 
 of small copper wire. The two nozzles a and d are then connected 
 by two heavy copper wires (c) fastened by winding once or twice 
 around each nozzle. The Vermorel nozzle is thus held firmly in 
 place, and, as the wire will stand any amount of bending, the 
 direction of the stream is easily regulated in this way. The 
 
length of the copper wire and rubber tubing may be increased as 
 desired ; for spraying the under side of the leaves of low shrubs, 
 for instance, the wire being bent so as to send a vertical stream; 
 but six inches of tubing is about as short a length as will furnish 
 sufficient elasticity for producing a' steady stream. The pump 
 may be also used for spraying trees by using the necessary length 
 of small hose furnished with a spray nozzle at one end, and con- 
 nected at the other with a piece of rubber tubing long enough to 
 allow free motion to the piston. The hose can then be fastened 
 to a light pole and the body of the pump so fastened to its base 
 as to allow free movement of the piston. 
 
 The apparatus can of course be used without the copper boiler, by 
 carrying the substance to be sprayed in a pail or other vessel ; but 
 when liquids are used, such as the Bordeaux mixture or Paris 
 green in water, which have to be kept stirred while being used, 
 the boiler gives far less trouble, since the motion of the body 
 keeps its contents stirred up while in use. The apparatus has 
 this additional advantage that, by procuring an extra hydronette 
 nozzle or a coupling which will serve to attach the sprayer as 
 described, the spray nozzle and its adjuncts may be screwed off 
 as a whole when not in use, and the ordinary nozzle substituted ; 
 so that the pump may be also employed for any of the many pur- 
 poses for which it is useful. The cost of this apparatus, not in- 
 cluding straps or strainer, is about as follows : 
 
 Copper boiler (No. 7) $3.25 
 
 Hydronette pump 4.00 
 
 Wire and rubber tubing .20 
 
 Fittings to boiler 1.00 
 
 Vermorel nozzle 1.25 
 
 Total $9.80 
 
 For spraying on a larger scale a stationary pump is needed, 
 and by far the best for the pivrpose is a double-acting force pump 
 such as " Gould's Double-acting Spraying Pump " (made by 
 the Gould Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y.), or any similarly con- 
 structed pump. This is made to screw on a barrel or hogs- 
 head which may be carried in a wheelbarrow or cart. The pump 
 is furnished with two couplings, one on either side, which may be 
 both fitted with light spraying hose. By coupling a short hose 
 to one, and turning it back into the barrel, the trouble of stir- 
 ring the mixture (when this is necessary) is obviated, if a single 
 
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 spraying hose only is needed. The stirring, however, is readily 
 done by the man who pumps, by means of a short paddle, fast- 
 ened into the hogshead by a leather thong. 
 
 If an orchard is to be treated it can be very rapidly done by 
 driving the cart containing the mixture and pump between the 
 rows and running a sprayer on either side. By using light hose, 
 such as can be got for 14 cts. a foot, and fastening the sprayer in 
 a convenient position to the end of a light pole of the necessary 
 length, to which the hose is also attached for part of its length, 
 the treatment of large trees is accomplished with great ease and 
 rapidity. 
 
 It is of great importance to have a proper nozzle for spraying, 
 and if the mixture is not a clear fluid, the " Vermorel " nozzle is 
 well suited for the purpose ; being self-cleaning and producing an 
 abundant and almost perfect spray.* For clear fluids the Nixon 
 nozzle made by the Nixon Nozzle and Machine Co., Dayton, 
 Ohio, is excellent ; and gives a very fine, direct spray. 
 
 In the treatment of fungus diseases no general directions can 
 be given which will apply in all cases, and information on the 
 subject should be previously obtained from some reliable source. 
 In general, however, it may be said that treatment should in the 
 majority of cases be preventive rather than curative, the applica 
 tion being effective only when made before the disease has 
 appeared. An application of a strong fungicide to vines or trees 
 during late winter or early spring is often useful by killing fungus 
 spores adhering to them. For this purpose a Bordeaux mixture 
 made as above described, by using ten pounds of sulphate of 
 copper, ten pounds of lime and twenty-five gallons of water, may 
 be employed; and a strong (25 per cent.) solution of sulphate of 
 iron has been found of advantage for the same purpose. 
 
 The apparatus just described for the application of fungi- 
 cides is equally well adapted to the use of insecticides. If Paris 
 green or London purple are to be used, they may in some cases 
 be mixed with the fungicide solution in the usual proportions 
 when a double treatment is esired. 
 
 * A limited number of these nozzles will be furnished on application to the 
 Station at the wholesale price ($1.25 and postage, 5 cents). 
 
The following quotations on materials needed for the purpose 
 of preparing and applying fungicides have been kindly furnished 
 by the firms named. 
 
 Sulphate of Copper in original package of 400 lbs., per lb. .06-§- 
 
 " in lots of 100 lbs., per lb. .07£ 
 
 " per pound in small amounts .10 
 
 Ammonia (26°) in Carboy of 80 lbs. (For use dilute with one- 
 third its volume of water giving 22°), per lb .08 
 
 " in small quantities, without package, per lb .10 
 
 Carbonate of Copper, per lb .75 
 
 C. B. Whittlesey & Co., State St., New Haven. 
 
 £ -inch heavy rubber tubing, per foot .18 
 
 Conant Rubber Co., 26 Asylum St., Hartford. 
 
 Copper wash boilers, No. 1 . 3.25 
 
 G. W. Hazel, 11 Church St., New Haven. 
 
 Aquanette force pump 4.00 
 
 T. "W. Corbett, 280 Elm St., New Haven. 
 
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