S16 



Pub. Puget Sound Biol. Sta. Voi,. 2, No. 47 



■V/ 



PLATE 33 



The results of one Sunday's gathering at Tillamook, Oregon; 2000 sacks. 



(6) Sacks used in storing or shipping moss must first be boiled or 

 sterilized with formaldehyde in order to prevent mildewing. 



Storing Sphagnum 



The demands for sufficient moss to supply the daily needs where a 

 large number of work rooms is concerned necessitates storing it for a con- 

 siderable length of time, specially where the difficulties of gathering in 

 winter are great, and the collections are entirely dependent on volunteer 

 labor as is the case in the Northwestern Division. How best to store the 

 moss so as to insure a constant supply is one of the difficult problems 

 connected with sphagnum work. It is readily conceded that sphagnum 

 keeps best in its native haunts, and if it is at all possible to obtain it 

 during the winter directly from the bog and in sufficient quantities, that is 

 by far the best place to keep it. This indeed may be possible to some 

 extent in the Pacific Northwest if only small amounts are required, but 

 it is impossible to obtain several carloads on short notice during the winter 

 months. During the summer the bogs are comparatively dry, so that the 

 moss may be obtained with half the energy and inconvenience that it 

 necessitates during the rainy season. Moreover, along the Atlantic Coast 

 and in Alaska the bogs are frozen up during the winter, making it im- 

 possible to obtain the moss under any conditions. 



