NURSERY PRACTICE. , 129 



is important to pack with exceeding care, so that the 

 goods will be safe even if considerably delayed. 



Puddling. All dormant nursery stock should have 

 the roots "puddled" before being shipped. This opera- 

 tion consists in dipping the roots of the trees into a thin 

 clay mud. A convenient way to do this is to dig a small 

 deep hole in which the mud is prepared. Such treat- 

 ment is quite a protection to the roots against drought. 



FIG. 43. Cross-section of a box packed with Pine Seedlings. The 

 roots are covered with moist sphagnum moss, and the tops are 

 not covered. In .actual practice the plants would be much 

 closer together. 



The Best Material in which to pack nursery stock is 

 probably moist (not wet) sphagnum moss, but as this 

 is often expensive and out of the question in many locali- 

 ties, peat, excelsior, or wet chaff will be found good sub- 

 stitutes. Of late years excelsior has been growing in 

 favor with our best nurserymen as packing material. 

 The material used for this purpose is such as is generally 

 wasted at shingle mills. Before using, it should be thor- 



