CHAPTER XIV 



Packing and Shipping Field-Grown Plants 



AS a rule, it is not desirable to purchase field-grown plants that must 

 be shipped a great distance, as plants taken from a field near the 

 greenhouses, and transferred to the benches in the shortest possible 

 time, will suffer the least check. However, there always will be the neces- 

 sity of purchasing more or less field-grown stock which must be shipped 

 from distant growers. The uncertainties of carnation growing are such, that 

 frequently shortages will occur, and these shortages must be made up by 

 the purchase of field-grown plants from other growers, often located at 

 distant points. 



Success in growing plants shipped from a distance will not only largely 

 depend upon their condition when taken from the field, but will depend 

 equally as much upon the care taken in preparing and packing the plants 

 for shipment, as well as the care exercised by the purchaser in properly 

 unpacking and treating them upon their arrival, and prior to planting on 

 the benches. Upon the part of the seller, the utmost care should be used 

 to have the plants safely delivered to the transportation company, securely 

 packed in a cool, dormant condition, so that they will not be injured by 

 either heating, or growing, during transit. 



Plants should be dug as early in the morning as the foliage becomes 

 dry. They should be placed immediately in flats and carried to a cool shed, 

 the object being to cool them down as much as possible. The roots should 

 not be left exposed in the sun to dry, and in all cases should be covered 

 with moist sphagnum moss; and the plants should not be allowed to wilt. 

 In packing, boxes about twenty-four to thirty inches wide, and sufficiently 

 deep to hold the plants without injury, are preferable. The flower shoots 

 should not be bent over, but must stand erect, and free from the top of 

 the box. They should be so packed that an abundance of air may reach 

 the tops of the plants, which must still be protected from the drying suns 

 and draughts. The plants should be boxed up while they are cool, so as 

 to avoid fermenting and heating. 



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