Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


 PREPARING THE STOCK SOLUTIONS
 For convenience in preparing large quantities of bordeaux
 mixture, the bluestone and lime should be made up separately
 as stock solutions, each containing one pound of bluestone or
 lime respectively to each gallon of water. These separate stock
 solutions will keep indefinitely but should be covered tightly to
 prevent evaporation which would concentrate the solutions.
 Stock Solution A, Bluestone: Dissolve bluestone (copper sul-
phate) at the rate of 1 pound to each gallon of water in a barrel.
An iron vessel should never be used for bluestone solutions or
bordeaux mixture; neither should hoes or other metallic im-
plements be used to stir them. The bluestone may be dissolved
readily by placing it in a clean feed or fertilizer sack and drawing
it about in the water. The granulated or pulverized forms dissolve
much more readily than the coarse crystalline form. ALWAYS
STIR THIS STOCK SOLUTION BEFORE TAKING ANY OUT.
 Stock Solution B, Lime: In another vessel, slake an amount
of quicklime equal to the number of pounds of bluestone used
and dilute with water to an equivalent number of gallons. When
slaking the lime, great care should be taken to prevent either
drowning, which results from adding so much water that the
heat of the slaking process is quenched, or burning, which re-
sults from adding so little water that the lime gets too hot.
Owing to the difficulty of getting quicklime and keeping it in
good condition in Florida, fresh hydrated lime may be used, in
which case one-third more lime will be required in a given
amount of stock solution in order to compensate for the water
added during the process of hydration. Quicklime that has be-
come air-slaked, or carbonated, should not be used for making
bordeaux mixture. For the same reason, hydrated lime should
be used only when it is known to be fresh and of high quality.
In case the ordinary plasterers' or finishing grade of hydrated
lime is used, it is preferable to allow it to soak in water over
night before using, in order to secure a bordeaux mixture of
good suspension. ALWAYS STIR THIS STOCK SOLUTION
BEFORE TAKING ANY OUT.
 MAKING THE MIXTURE
 One of the great drawbacks to the use of bordeaux mixture
lies in the faulty and haphazard methods commonly employed
in its preparation. Unfortunately, bordeaux mixture is not fool-