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PARAFINE WAX— AN AID TO GROWTH IX TRANSPLANTED 



TREES AND SHRUBS 



By Jas. A. Neilson, B. S. A., M.S., Extension Horticulturist, 

 Dept. of Agriculture, Port Hope, Ont. 



Amongst the varied problems that confront the horticulturist, that 

 of getting newly planted trees to grow is one of the most common. 

 This is particularly true of sweet cherry, roses, and nut trees, but also 

 occurs with some other kinds. Nurserymen likewise experience diffi- 

 culty in storing and transplanting trees or shrubs in good condition 

 over long distances. These difficulties are due to various factors, but 

 the principal one is believed to be drying out of roots and trunks which 

 takes place between the time of digging and re-planting. Root drying 

 may be prevented in the nursery by protecting the roots while in 

 storage and by careful packing for shipment, and the planters like- 

 wise can do their part by careful heeling in until ready to plant. It 

 is not so easy, however, to prevent drying out of tops in storage or 

 transit without undue expense or trouble, and consequently there is 

 usually some loss due to this factor when trees are shipped long dis- 

 tances. 



Believing that some form of protection for the trunks and branches 

 would be helpful in sliipping trees to distant points, and in getting 

 newly transplanted trees to grow, the writer conducted an experiment 

 to determine the value of parafine wax as one form of protection. 

 The use of parafine wax was suggested by the good results secured 

 in sending scions to distant points and in storing rare varieties of nut 

 tree scions for long periods of time. 



Experiments which illustrate these points are described hereunder. 

 On October 16th, 1925, a fine young grafted heartnut tree Avas blown 

 down by a heavy wind and. in the ordinary course of events, would 

 have been lost had not an attempt been made to save the tree by novel 

 methods. The trunk and branches were cat into sections of about one 

 foot in length and these sections were entirely coated with hot para- 

 fine wax. The waxed sections were then packed in moist sawdust and 



