446 THE PRINCIPLES OF FLORICULTURE 



box is turned on its side, the plants will still remain in 

 position (Fig. 51). 



In very cold weather it may be necessary to ship plants 

 in boxes which are entirely closed at the top. In such 

 cases, the boxes should be labeled distinctly, to enable 

 the men handling them in transportation to know which 

 side should be kept upright. Specimen foliage plants, 

 such as palms, ferns, crotons and dracsenas, are packed in 

 the way described for flowering plants, except that less 

 attention is paid to protecting the tops with tissue paper 

 or other material. Small plants, such as ferns and as- 

 paragus, are usually taken from the pots, their roots 

 wrapped in newspapers, and excelsior tied about them. 

 The papers should be large enough to wrap the entire 

 plant lightly. Usually the plants are wrapped sepa- 

 rately, but if quite small, a number may be wrapped in 

 the same paper. 



After the shipment is wrapped, a box of the right size 

 is selected, and the bundles of plants are laid with the 

 roots next the end of the box. The next row is reversed 

 so that the papers which protect the tops, overlap. 

 Another row of plants is then placed against the roots of 

 the second row, and this method continued until the 

 bottom of the box is covered. The layer is then covered 

 with coarse manila paper, and cleats are nailed inside the 

 box to prevent the second layer from crushing the first. 

 This is repeated until the box is full. The whole is then 

 covered with dry moss or paper, so the plants will not 

 move about in shipment, and the cover is nailed securely 

 in place. 



Large plants, such as palms, may be packed in a similar 

 manner but because of their weight, more care is required 

 to prevent the second layer of plants from crushing the 



