Chapter 392 Bordeaux liquid
Vienna, Schonbrunn Palace
Franz had tried to alert London to the horror of potato late blight through secret private channels, but the latter seemed to have no response, and the former could not reveal his identity, so he had to resign himself to fate.
In addition, the solution to this famine can also start from the root cause. There are two ways to prevent and control this pathogen: one is to select high-quality species, and the other is to control it with pesticides.
However, there are a lot of troubles in the actual implementation of the above two methods; first, potato late blight has not appeared in Austria. To put it another way, at least it has not spread here yet.
As for buying the virus strain and actively infecting it, this act of seeking death would not be done as long as the brain is not broken. It is also not feasible to bring those strains carrying potato late blight to China for research, because this country has rain all year round.
Once the germs enter the atmospheric circulation, they can easily spread throughout the empire and trigger an agricultural crisis. Not only will other countries make a lot of money, but the country will also be more likely to fall into continued chaos due to economic and social crises.
As for pesticides, at this time Europeans would use powder made from pyrethrum to control pests. That’s right! It is the most powerful natural insecticide in modern times, and Europeans began to use it in the 19th century.
However, due to the trouble of preparation, it did not become popular. Instead, it was later discovered that chemical preparations that were easy to prepare began, and the history of large-scale use of pesticides began. Then after going around for more than a hundred years, it was finally discovered that natural products were better. .
However, the development of pesticides against mold is lagging behind.
These people will only mix tobacco and lime and then light it in the farmland. As for the effect, it depends entirely on God's will. Franz knew that sulfur was used in the East in ancient times, but he did not know whether it was effective in preventing potato late blight.
For this reason, Franz tried to turn to the Royal Society of Science for help, but even the geniuses gathered there were at a loss to start.
As mentioned earlier, it is absolutely impossible to bring this germ back into the country, because the risk cannot be ignored, and it is completely unnecessary for the empire to lose more than the gain.
Franz had to do the opposite and ordered his subordinates and related personnel to collect improved seeds from all over Europe and Asia, and then sent special personnel to transport them to Ireland to see if they would be infected with potato late blight.
Although this is an afterthought method, it is also a hopeless method.
In addition, Franz still vividly remembered a simple pesticide preparation method he learned in junior high school chemistry class, and he also mentioned it later when he heard people bragging about wine.
That’s right, it’s “Bordeaux liquid”. The materials and chemical formula required for this pesticide are copper sulfate + quicklime + water. Although I forgot the specific proportion, it is correct to add more.
After figuring it out, Franz immediately came to his laboratory, poured some white crystals (anhydrous copper sulfate) and white powder (quicklime) into a container filled with water, and then stirred it with a glass rod.
Soon the crystals and powder disappeared, and the originally clear and transparent liquid turned blue. But after finishing the preparation, he discovered a problem. His little sister Maria was biting her fingers and staring at the bottle of blue liquid in her hand.
It was obvious that she had mistaken it for a blue drink, which made Franz dumbfounded.
"Didn't that damn Bordeaux say that his defense is the same as Tianqian? How come even a kid can break through so easily?"
In fact, Colonel Bordeaux also felt that he had been wronged. If the visitor had other identities, he would have been able to stop him, but if the visitor was a princess, there was nothing he could do.
Soon after, Colonel Bordeaux's eyes caught sight of Madam Sophie, who was looking for the little princess, and he immediately saluted respectfully.
"Hello, Mrs. Sophie, thank you for your hard work."
Mrs. Sophie looked this man up and down, and then she remembered that this man was the male attendant she had selected for Franz to be responsible for safety. His family has been loyal to the royal family for fifteen generations and has never produced a scumbag, but this descendant is not very smart.
"Give it to me!"
"no!"
"I want to drink!"
"That's not a drink!"
"Wow!" The argument between the brother and sister ended with little Maria crying.
Franz decided to teach him a lesson first and then give him a candy as usual.
But as soon as she lifted little Maria and put her on her lap, Mrs. Sophie stopped her.
"Franz! What are you doing! As an elder brother, how could you do this to your young sister?"
He knew that it would be useless to explain that a small tree will not grow into a towering tree if it is not pruned. He simply put little Maria down and said.
"I was wrong, mother. But the liquid in the bottle is indeed very dangerous. I just wanted to stop my sister from doing stupid things."
"Mom, my elder brother hit me just now! He also pulled my hair out!" Little Maria said and pulled out her hair twice, but it was a pity that Franz had already made the matter clear first.
Even if the doting little daughter acts rogue again, Mrs. Sophie will be able to understand the whole story at a glance. But for the sake of her daughter’s face, she still has to do superficial things.
"Then how about mom teach this unreliable brother a lesson for you?"
She gave him two symbolic blows before preparing to take little Maria away. However, she was already very dissatisfied in her heart. If this matter had been replaced by Maria's three brothers, she would have been taught a lesson.
But Maria is a girl after all, and Mrs. Sophie still can't be cruel.
But when he saw the bottle of blue liquid on the eldest son's table, he asked curiously.
"What's in this?"
Franz immediately had a solution after seeing his mother's expression. However, in order to reduce unnecessary trouble, he chose to tell the truth, "Pesticides."
After Mrs. Sophie was convinced that this was not an item suitable for human consumption, she had to swallow her saliva.
"I really don't understand what you are thinking about in your head all day long. The king is not a scholar, and tinkering with these messy tricks all day long is not the work of a wise man.
Even if you have a strong interest, you can leave it to the experts and professors, and you should spend more time studying with the ministers.
Recently, the Prime Minister and the Archbishop rarely enter the palace. I personally invite people to invite you, but I can't preach to you. What good things have you done? Also, don't hang out with Friedrich all the time, that prodigal just spends money like water. "
"Yes, I will be very close to the Prime Minister and the Archbishop. What about Uncle Albrecht?" Franz asked, after all, this was a war hero at this time.
"It's better to have less contact. There is no serious person in your uncle Carl's family; the elder married a Protestant, and the three younger ones are all unmarried. If there were not several daughters still alive, I'm afraid He will be extinct in a few years."
Although Mrs. Sophie's barbed words are unpleasant, they are true.
As a nobleman who grew up in a devoutly Catholic family, Archduke Karl was forced to marry because of his old age, so he searched around the German states and finally got a Protestant.
This was the first inter-religious marriage in the history of the Habsburg family, which caused a storm in the city and ultimately affected their political future.
Albrecht, Carl Ferdinand, and Friedrich were already over the marriageable age, but they didn't even have a lover, let alone a wife.
At this time, little Maria, who was tired from crying, actually fell asleep on Mrs. Sophie's shoulder.
"Your sister fell asleep, and I took her back. You can take care of yourself."
"Mother, please walk slowly." Franz saluted respectfully.