Burgundy mixture

— Considerable difficulty is experienced in several of the West Indian islands in obtaining quicklime for the preparation of Bordeaux mixture, and in keeping it in good condition when it has been procured. This has resulted in the use of slaked, or partially slaked, lime for the purpose, with the result that an inferior mixture has been produced. Instead of resorting in this difficulty to expensive and unsatisfactory commercial preparations, it may be suggested that the use of Burgundy mixture, in which the lime is replaced by sodium carbonate (washing soda) offers an alternative that is likely to give excellent results. According to experience covering a period of five years in the use of Burgundy as compared with Bordeaux mixture against potato blight, the Department of Agriculture for Ireland reports that the former gave better results in the yield of the sprayed plots, and possesses moreover, the following advantages even where good lime is available:— 1. The spraying mixture adheres longer to the foliage of the plants, and is not so readily washed off by rain. 2. The mixture is more easily prepared. 3. The nozzles of the machine are not so likely to become stopped up with grit or refuse material. If the mixture is carefully made there should be no sediment. Dr. A. S. Horne has recently published in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society a formula for a Burgundy mixture which is rendered more adhesive by the addition of milk, and records very successful results from its use against leaf-curl disease of peaches. The proportions are as follows:—[…]