PACKING AND SHIPPING 



441 



grown abroad, largely because the low cost of labor 

 there makes it impracticable for the American flower- 

 grower to compete in their production. The art of pack- 

 ing has been mastered to a remarkable degree by foreign 

 plant producers, and American gardeners can learn much 

 from them. Recently, experiments have been tried in 

 shipping cut orchids from England. They have reached 

 this country in almost perfect condition and proved to 

 have good keeping qualities. Shipments of cut sprays 

 of lilacs were recently imported from Holland, and ar- 

 rived in excellent condition after 'having been nearly two 

 weeks in transportation. Within recent years orchid 

 importations have arrived in very good condition, and 

 there has been a comparatively low percentage of loss. 



734. Shipping rooms, their location and equipment. - 

 On every range where many plants are packed for ship- 

 ment, there should be a convenient and well-equipped 

 shipping-room. It should be heated sufficiently to pre- 

 vent any chilling of the plants during the packing process. 

 In ranges where shipments of plants and cut-flowers are 

 large, there are shipping rooms for each. Each room is 

 under the supervision of an expert, who is assisted by a 

 well-trained corps. Shipping-rooms are generally busy 

 places, especially during a holiday season. 



In the plant-shipping room, convenient benches are so 

 arranged that the workmen can wrap the plants easily 

 before they are packed. There are racks for crating mate- 

 rial of various dimensions, and all the conveniences which 

 make rapid and effective work possible. Material suffi- 

 cient for any emergency should be always at hand, that 

 the workmen may not be handicapped during a rush 

 season. In addition to boxes and crating materials, there 

 should be readily available an abundance of wrapping 



