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Show From the Farmers' Home Journal. WHITEWASHING TREES. Do not be afraid to whitewash fruit trees of all kinds. It looks neat, fresh and nice and it not only destroys insects in-sects and their eggs, but the white coat on the body of tree reflects the heat and keeps the inner bark and sap vessels from being ucalded and blighted by the rays of the sun. Every fruit grower knows by experience how injurious the blaze of the sun is to the limbs and trunk of a tree. A thick coat of whitewash will be much better-protection inart straw, boards, or other materials, under which mice, bugs and ' worms can harboi These destructive pests can be completely kept away by using sul- iphur in the whitewash. The way to mix it is 1o jtake for each peck of lime four pounds of flour 'sulphur. Mix the lime and sulphur together iti a barrel and pour in a bucketful of hot water. Cover the. top of the barrel while the liiine is slacking, so as to retain re-tain all the fumes of the sulphur. When slacked, add enough water o make a thin .whitewash, jpiit this wash on the trees with a, broom or bruh, taking care to keep the sulphur well stirred up, as it will be found to float like a scum of oil on tlie surface of the water. 1 This lime and sulphur wash is good for grapevines posts and stakes in the vinyard. When properly made and put on, a strong smell of sulphur will be detected several feet from the trees and vines during the whole summer. These fumes are caused by the slow combustion or oxidation of the sulphur when sulphurous acid gas is formed, which is certain death to all the low order of animal nnd vegetable'life. This oxidizing action of sulphnr is the reason why it is used to dust grape berries and leaves tocheel: the spread of oidiumi mildew, grape, rot and other1 fungoid diseases, because as soon asthe sulphurous oxide gas is formed and pervades the surrounding sur-rounding atmosphere, all these fungus growths' are instantly killed 86 too, would be all insect life, and on a large ' . ' :'.'. i i I . 1 ' "" m . , J , i ' , - . scale, so, too, would be all animal life. I w The use of sulphur as herein recom- S mended, in combination with lime, in I; a whitewash, being found efflcieht' ' and valuable by several Who have K tried itj it is hoped it will be more .-; r; generally adopted by all orchrdis't8v m l;; and grape growers. ' li |
