PREPARING EXHIBITS 61 



wrap the blooms, but instead place on a sheet of tissue, bringing the ends 

 up so as to act as a partition between the adjoining blooms, also the 

 sides. This system of packing is along the same lines as that usually 

 employed by the wholesale dealers in packing Roses and Carnations. 



Foreign Shipments Flowers grown in this country have been ex- 

 hibited in England and vice versa. The directions given for packing are 

 {Tactical in such cases, but would suggest the stems being cut not to ex- 

 ceed 12 inches in length, and use Kift's Rubber Capped Flower Tube for 

 each specimen. These tubes are glass vials with a tight fitting rubber 

 cap which confines the water to the tube and thus the supply is sufficient 

 to keep them fresh. 



Another method is sometimes employed in which the flowers are 

 packed so they stand upright, a very good system where the exhibit is not 

 very large, or the distance to be shipped very long. The size commonly 

 used is 3 by 4 feet and 2 ft. G inches in depth, but should the schedules 

 require longer stems a deeper box will be necessary. These boxes are pro- 

 vided with cleats, one a few inches from the bottom and the other placed 

 so as to come directly under the bloom. In packing put two cleats in 

 position at one end of the box and after the blooms have been wrapped 

 set them in position and tie securely, top and bottom. 



As soon as one row is completed another set of cleats are adjusted 

 and the work continued. The ends of the stems may be wrapped with 

 sphagnum moss or inserted in rubber capped tubes filled with water to 

 keep the foliage from wilting. Packed in this manner the foliage dries 

 out more than when laid flat in the box owing to the large amount of air 

 space, hence the necessity of providing moisture at the end of the stem to 

 prevent flagging. These boxes are generally constructed with a hinge 

 cover, also one side or end hinged from the middle so that the upper por- 

 tion may be let down, making it more convenient in packing and unpack- 

 ing. 



Dressing Floicers This is resorted to somewhat by foreign exhibi- 

 tors, but little practiced in this country. In fact most schedules prohibit 

 dressing. The Incurved section requires more attention than the Japanese 

 when this operation is resorted to. The method is simply to remove 

 short or deformed petals and arrange perfect ones to occupy their places, 

 also to separate those which have grown one into the other to form a 

 regular rounded flower when finished. Sometimes semi-incurved Japanese 

 are dressed to give them a reflexed appearance. As far as known about 

 the only dressing done in this country is the removal of deformed petals, 

 which are likely to occur in any of the types. Very often strap-petals will 

 nppear in the cushion of the Anemone varieties and thus detract from 

 their appearance, and should be removed with a pair of tweezers. 



