RECORDING THE EXPERIMENTS 



convenience, as it will enable any particular lot 

 of plants to be located, even if through some inad- 

 vertence the label stakes, which are an absolute 

 necessity, have been removed or lost by careless 

 workmen. 



Often when planting in the field, letters or 

 numbers are used on the stakes, corresponding 

 with similar letters or numbers in the record book. 

 LABEL STAKES AND LABELS 



As to the label stakes themselves, the ones that 

 I habitually use for general field culture are about 

 20 inches long, 2 inches wide, and % of an inch in 

 thickness. They are smoothly planed and painted 

 about half way down on both sides with common 

 white lead paint. 



One coat of paint is far better than two, for 

 if a pencil is used the lightly painted surface 

 takes the lead to advantage, and by bearing down 

 heavily with the pencil, indentations are made in 

 the wood that will resist the weather more effec- 

 tually and thus give greater permanence to the 

 record. 



It is desirable to make the label stakes of soft, 

 smooth redwood or other durable wood. In the 

 East the locust is an excellent substitute. It is 

 advantageous to dip the end of the stake in car- 

 bolic acid or in a solution of sulphate of copper 

 to prevent decay. These stakes may be used over 



[261] 



