December 4. 1909 



HOKTl CULTURE 



787 



agent to the classification, and to the 

 fact that the shipment should be billed 

 at 20 per cent less than regular mer- 

 chandise rate. 



In this paper I have treated the sub- 

 ject in a general way, and taken up 

 points that are of importance to both 

 consignor and consignee. There are, 

 however, special kinds and sizes of 

 plants that require special packing and 

 handling, and they must be treated ac- 

 cordingly; but I cannot enter into de- 

 tails here. 



One thing I have always been inter- 

 ested in and have found of great bene- 

 fit, and that is to watch the various 

 shipments unpacked at the conventions 

 and exhibitions, and profit by adopting 

 their good points, and avoiding their 

 mistakes. 



Packing Cut Flowers. 



Now as to cut flowers. In the first 

 place, I dwell mostly on carnations, as 

 that is the Jlower chiefly affecting the 

 Canadian florist. I prefer stock grown 

 outside during the summer — these 

 fhould be properly and carefully han- 

 dled to keep them free from disease at 

 all times. After they are put in the 

 houses, which is generally done dur- 

 ing the months of July and August, 

 they should not be allowed to come 

 into bloom until the last of September 

 or the first of October. Carefully pinch 

 back any shoots that are showing buds 

 too early. 



It is not a very hard matter to ar- 

 rive at a decision as to how a carna- 

 tion should be cut and handled during 

 the early part of the season, or until 

 the middle of November, or the first 

 part of December, when the plants 

 have been given practically no feed- 

 ing at all. but the hardest time of the 

 year to* ship carnations and have them 

 reach destination in perfect condition 

 is from December 1st to March 1st, 

 and again in the spring when the 

 weather gets extremely warm and 

 plants make a very quick, soft growth. 

 Therefore, we will take into considera- 

 tion the proper way to handle carna- 

 tions through the middle of winter. In 

 the first place, plants should never be 

 given an uneven temperature at night, 

 keeping the temperature from 48 to 54 

 degrees, according to the variety. Feed 

 sparingly, but often, rather than give 

 a heavy feed occasionally, and then in 

 feeding, use only well-rotted cow ma- 

 nure or pulverized sheep manure, as I 

 prefer it to commercial fertilizers. 

 Keep the plants in a steady growth, 

 but do not cnuse a soft growth to be 

 made fvom over-feeding, or high tem- 

 perature, giving as much air as possi- 

 ble during the day. It may be neces- 

 sary to keep the steam circulating 

 through the pipes to keep up the tem- 

 perature, to allow the yentilation to 

 be open to give the plants as much 

 fresh air as possible, especially so on 

 bright sunny days. 



Preparing tlie Blooms. 



When the bloom reaches the proper 

 stage of development, which is not 

 quite fully developed, it should be cut 

 with a sharp knife between the joints. 

 As soon as one or tw^o hundred are 

 cut, they should immediately he taken 

 to the packing shed, where they should 

 be placed in water — have the .stems in 

 from twelve to eighteen inches of wa- 

 ter, if possible. A cold cellar for stor- 

 ing carnations where the temperature 

 Is about 45 is bsst. Never crowd too 

 many carnations in one jar, giving 



them plenty of room to absorb as much 

 water as possible before shipping. 

 From three to five hoiu-s I consider 

 would be long enough for carnations 

 to remain In tlie water before packing 

 them, according to the distiince they 

 would have tn travel. In cases where 

 they arc shipped one thousand miles, 

 requiring forty hours to make the trip, 

 llowers would be best in water from 

 four to six hours before shipping. 



Boxing. 



Use strong wooden boxes for pack- 

 In? them in, if lined with paper in- 

 side. There are a variety of ways, 

 some packing flat with wet paper over 

 each layer of stems, others in bunches 

 of twenty-five with a piece of ice laid 

 on paper on the stems, others again 

 with no wet paper or ice. I have un- 

 packed thousands of each, and noted 

 results of each way. I prefer them 

 laid flat with stems in centre of box, 

 and wet paper across each layer until 

 the box is full. By wet paper, I do 

 not mean a piece of paper simply put 

 In water and taken out again, but one 

 that i.> soaked through, and through. 

 Then place two cleats across the stems 

 and nail them down securely so they 

 cannot shift. The box is now ready for 

 the lid. I prefer the box covered with 

 paper, thus making it as air tight as 

 possible. 



The cutting and packing of ro.ses Is 

 practically the same except that in 

 long distances a piece of ice is pre- 

 ferred. 



As regards the packing of sweet 

 peas, as soon as they are cut, place 

 them in water for two or three hours 

 in a cold room at about 50 degrees, 

 then pack them with wax paper and 

 no ice. Place a sheet of wax paper 

 between every row of bunches. Use 

 fiat boxes and only one layer in each 

 box. 



Express Companies. 

 I feel I cannot close this paper with- 

 out reference to the necessity for bet- 

 ter equipment for transit, and perhaps 



WARD'S Lily Bulbs 



'NOT HOW CHEAP— 

 BUT HOW GOOD" 



RALPH M. WARD & GQ. 



12 West Broadway. - • - New York 



more care in handling while "en 

 route." 



Express cars are not properly 

 equipped for handling flowers, espe- 

 cially those on through trains, such 

 as "Toronto and Winnipeg." In the 

 first place, cars are loaded full and It 

 is necessary for messengers to shift 

 llowers from one part of car to an- 

 other, when sorting express matter for 

 the many routes throughout the West. 

 It is impossible to maintain one tem- 

 perature, or nearly so. as required for 

 safety in handling these shipments 

 during cold weather unless properly 

 protected. 



The onlj' way (lowers can be han- 

 dled with satisfaction under such cir- 

 cumstances is that special apartments 

 be built for same in through cars, 

 about six feet from side door, in fore- 

 part of car (this need not be a fixture), 

 and when placed in this compartment 

 can be kept at almost one temperature. 



A Few Left the Ne>v Dawson Rambler Roses 



DAYBREAK and LADY DUNCAN 



3 year old Plants $1 each, $10 per doz. 



A Large Stock of Choice Conifers, Deciduous Trees 

 and Shrubs and Hardy Herbaceous Perennials 



EASTERN NURSERIES, JAMAICA PLAIN. MASS. 



HENRY S. DAWSON Manager 



tfWMWIAAAMIWWWWVMWWMWWMmWWtlWVWWWWWIAmWWIMVinAAMMWMfllWM 



PEACOCK'S PEERLESS DAHLIAS 



[^IPI n DnOT^ ^^^^ Rose, Fringed 20th Century, 

 nCL^U K.VJW I O, Rose Pink Century, Virginia HiUle, 



Big Chief. $3.50 per doz., $25.00^per ico. Best cut fiuwer sorts, 

 $1.00 per doz., $5.00 per lOO. 



PEACOCK DAHLIA FARMS, 



■Wri.I.I*MSTOWN, 

 JCN^ITION, N.J. 



RUTHERFORD 



N. J. 



ROEHRS, 



Lorraine Begonias 



