Chapter 392 Bordeaux Liquid

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace

Franz has tried to alert London through secret private channels to the horror of potato late blight, but the latter seems to have no reaction, and the former cannot reveal his identity, so he can only leave it to fate.

In addition, the solution to this famine can also start from the root. There are only two ways to prevent and control this pathogen: one is to select excellent varieties, and the other is to use pesticides.

However, there are also considerable troubles in the implementation of the above two methods; first, potato late blight has not appeared in Austria. From another perspective, at least it has not spread here yet.

As for buying strains to actively infect, this kind of suicidal behavior will not be done as long as the brain is not broken. It is also not feasible to bring strains carrying potato late blight to the country for research, because this country has rain all year round.

Once the pathogen enters the atmospheric circulation, it can easily spread to all parts of the empire, and it is not a problem to cause an agricultural crisis. Not only will other countries make a lot of money, but the country is more likely to fall into a continuous chaos due to the economic and social crisis.

As for pesticides, 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 have been using it since the 19th century.

However, due to the trouble of making it, it was not popularized. Instead, it was later discovered that chemical preparations that were easy to make began to use pesticides on a large scale. After more than a hundred years, it was finally discovered that natural products of the same type were better.

But now the development of pesticides for mold is very backward.

These people only know how to mix tobacco and lime and then burn them in the fields. As for the effect, it depends entirely on God's will. Franz knew that sulfur was used in ancient times in the East, but he didn't know whether it was effective in preventing potato late blight.

For this reason, Franz tried to seek help from the Royal Society of Science, but even the geniuses gathered there were at a loss and had no idea where to start.

As mentioned in the previous article, it is absolutely impossible to bring this pathogen back to the country, because its risks must not be ignored, and it is not necessary for the empire to lose more than it gains.

Franz had to do the opposite, ordering his subordinates and related personnel to collect good varieties from all over Europe and Asia, and then send someone to Ireland to see if they would be infected with potato late blight.

Although this was a method that was realized after the fact, it was also a method of no choice.

In addition, Franz still remembered a simple method of preparing pesticides that he had learned in junior high school chemistry class, and he also mentioned it when he heard people bragging about wine later.

Yes, it was "Bordeaux mixture". The materials and chemical formula required for this pesticide are copper sulfate + quicklime + water. Although the specific proportions were forgotten, adding more water was definitely right.

After figuring it out, Franz immediately went to his laboratory and 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. However, after the preparation was completed, he found a problem. His younger sister Maria was biting her fingers and staring at the bottle of blue liquid in her hand.

It was obvious that she mistook it for a blue drink, which made Franz laugh and cry.

"Didn't that damn Bordeaux say that his defense was as strong as a natural moat? How could even a child break through so easily?"

In fact, Colonel Bordeaux also felt very wronged. If the visitor was of another identity, he would definitely be able to stop him, but if it was a princess, he would be powerless.

Not long after, Colonel Bordeaux noticed Madame Sophie who was looking for the little princess and immediately saluted respectfully.

"Madame Sophie, hello, you have worked hard."

Madame Sophie looked the man up and down, and then she remembered that this man was the male attendant she had chosen for Franz to be responsible for security. His family had been loyal to the royal family for fifteen generations and had never produced a scum, but this descendant was not very smart.

"Give it to me!~~~"

"No!"

"I want to drink it!~~~"

"That's not a drink!"

"Wow!" The argument between the brother and sister ended with little Maria crying.

Franz decided to teach her a lesson as usual and then give her a candy.

But as soon as he lifted little Maria up and put her on his lap, he was stopped by Mrs. Sophie.

"Franz! What are you doing! As a brother, how can you treat your young sister like this?"

He knew that it was useless to explain that if a young tree is not pruned, it will not become a towering tree in the future. He simply put little Maria down and said.

"I was wrong, mother. But the liquid in this bottle is really dangerous. I just wanted to stop my sister from doing stupid things."

"Mom, my brother just hit me! And pulled my hair!" Little Maria pulled her own hair twice while saying this, but it was a pity that Franz had already made things clear first.

Even if the spoiled little daughter was acting like a scoundrel, Mrs. Sophie could understand the whole story at a glance. But for the sake of her daughter's face, she still had to do some superficial work.

"How about I teach your unreliable brother a lesson for you?"

She symbolically hit him twice and prepared to take little Maria away. However, she was already very dissatisfied in her heart. If it were Maria's three brothers, they would have taught her a lesson long ago.

But Maria was a girl after all, and Mrs. Sophie still couldn't bear to do it.

But she saw the bottle of blue liquid on her eldest son's table and asked curiously.

"What's in it?"

Franz immediately had a solution after seeing his mother's expression. However, in order to reduce some unnecessary trouble, he chose to tell the truth, "Pesticide."

Mrs. Sophie was sure that this was not something that could be drunk by people, so she had to swallow her saliva.

"I really don't understand what you think about all day. A king is not a scholar, and it's not wise to tinker with these messy tricks all day.

Even if you are very interested, you can leave it to those experts and professors to complete, and you should take more time to learn from the ministers.

Recently, the Prime Minister and the Archbishop rarely come to the palace. I personally asked someone to invite them but they couldn't teach you. What good things have you done? In addition, don't always hang out with Friedrich. That prodigal son only spends money like water."

"Yes, I will get closer to the Prime Minister and the Archbishop. What about Uncle Albrecht?" Franz asked, after all, this uncle is a war hero at this time.

"It's better to have less contact. There is no decent person in your great-uncle Karl's family; the old one married a Protestant, and the three young ones are all old but have not married yet. If it weren't for the few daughters who are still alive, I'm afraid they will be extinct in a few years."

Although Mrs. Sophie's thorny words were unpleasant to hear, they were the truth.

Archduke Karl, a noble who grew up in a devout Catholic family, was urged to get married because of his age, so he looked around the German states and ended up with a Protestant.

This was the first pagan marriage in the history of the Habsburg family, which caused a sensation in the city and eventually ruined his political future.

Albrecht, Karl Ferdinand and Friedrich were already over the age of marriage, but they didn't even have a lover, let alone a wife.

At this time, little Maria, who was tired of crying, fell asleep on Mrs. Sophie's shoulder.

"Your sister is asleep, I took her back. You take care of yourself."

"Mother, take care." Franz saluted respectfully.