148 THE FIG: ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, AND CURING. 
to that on the sides, and all should be covered with oiled paper. 
Another good way is to tie the cuttings together in small bundles of 8 
or 10, and treat these bundles as single cuttings. A more solid pack- 
ing is the result. Very large boxes should never be used. A box 1 
foot wide and 1 foot deep by 18 inches long is of a good size, is easily 
handled, and not readily broken. When the top is screwed on and 
the box turned over there should be no shaking inside, but all should 
be perfectly solid. 
A yet safer way is 
to cover each little 
bundle with plenty 
of moss, then out- 
side of the moss 
wrap a stout pa- 
per, oiled or par- 
affin paper to be 
preferred. The 
bundles are to be 
kept steady in the 
box with plenty of 
moss. The points 
to be especially 
observed are to 
squeeze the water 
out of the moss well 
and to pack so that 
the cuttings will 
notmove. If they 
move in the begin- 
ning they will doso 
to a greater extent 
as the moss grad- 
ually dries, and 
the cuttings will 
Fic. 26.—A grafted fig tree second season from grafting. Most of 
the scions are 1 year old from the graft and have just been cut dry through the 
back. Severalsmallscions have just been inserted inthebranches sir admitted to the 
which were left growing todraw sap during last year. John Rock's ‘ 
method. : " - see box. Cuttings well 
packed in very 
small boxes or in oiled paper and moss may be safely sent by mail, 
and will not dry out for one or two weeks. Such bundles must be 
tied very solidly. It is always preferable to dip all cut and exposed 
surfaces in melted wax, grafting wax to be preferred. This of course 
prevents the cuttings from drying out rapidly and insures greater 
safety. If a few cuttings only are sent, each one should be sealed 
with wax, and then wrapped first in paraffin paper and then in 
tinfoil. 
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