the other. TTad the ])aeker understood the theory of his art as well as he did its 

 praetice, his em))h)ver would ])rol)al)Iy have grained an aiiiiiial eustomer in one 

 who now helieves that roses eannot be imported sueeessfully. 



Heat, air, lijrht and moisture are necessary for the ^^rowlh of plants; but in 

 paekinj? we aim only to preserve their existence. Li^ht is oidy necessary while 

 the plant is growing. AVhenever growth commences, it must have its due propor- 

 tion of light, or it soon decays. One of the chief points in good packing, therefore, 

 is to prevent growth. This being guarded against securely, plants can be kept 

 bo.xed or baled up in darkness for a long time. The chief agent in -exciting 

 growth is heat. A packer's chief care should be to get full control of this jjower.* 



Kvery one knows that when vegetable substances are collected in bodies, de- 

 prived of air and light, and become moist, they commence to decay; and, in the 

 process, evolve heat. To avoid this, those substances the least liable to decay by 

 being moistened, are eni])loyed as packing material. 



Of all substances yet known, njoss is the best in this particular, as under ordi- 

 nary circumstances, its decay is very slow. IIow wet the packing material should 

 be, or how much of it should be employed, will (le])end on the time the plants may 

 have to remain covered, and what description of plants they are. I^lants with soft 

 watery foliage need the packing material rather dry ; while deciduous trees, or 

 plants with bard leathery foliage, may have it quite wet. If plants have to be 

 sent some distance, it is in any case safest to use rather dry packing material; and 

 to depend on maintaining sufficient moisture for the plants' existence, by packing 

 tight so as to prevent evaporation. It need scarcely be added, after what has 

 been said, that the cooler plants can be kept until they are opened, the better 

 for them, unless the temperature is below freezing point, frosty weather being 

 equally, with hot, favorable to evaporation, 



Jt may be useful to say a few words on the details of packing as well as the 

 principles. Plants are transported in either boxes or bales. The former is 

 by far the most convenient for small trees under three feet, as well as for all 

 kinds of pot plants; trees of larger growth are best baled. Boxes for this pur- 

 pose should be strong, as they are lialjle to rough usage at times on wharves. In 

 packing pot plants, the first process is staking tlie plant, tying in all the branches, 

 as the closer they are tied the less they will get injured by each branch and leaf 

 rubbing against others. Then the soil must be fixed so as to prevent its being 

 thrown out of the pots. This is effected by tying moss over it around the stem 

 of the plant on the upper surface of the pot. 



There are two ways of tying on the moss. In one case the packer takes the 

 end of the string and the pot in his left hand, crosses the string over the surface 

 and under the bottom of the pot six or eight times, and finishes by bringing it 

 around under the rim. In the other the pot stands on the bench, and the string 

 is brought around under the rim, each time it is made to cross over the moss, and 

 does not go under the pot at all. The first is the easiest way ; the last makes the 

 best job, as it can never loosen, which the first often does. After the plants are 

 mossed, and a box selected capable of holding the required number, a few inches 

 of moss is ]ilaced in the bottom, and the largest and heaviest pots selected and 

 placed on their sides on two faces of the box, so as to "look at each other." 

 Strips of any narrow pieces of waste wood are then cut so as to fit exactly inside 

 the box ; these are placed along the face of the pots, so as to come on a line with 



* Many packages of plants are now transported in steamboats or ships, and they arc too 

 often carelessly placed near the influence of the boiler. It would be well always to mark 

 the package " to be kept cool," and to give instructions to that efi'ect. — Ed. 



