proceedings op the farmers' club. 377 



Sending Seeds and Plants by Mail. 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — I find in the Country Gentleman a statement in 

 regard to sending seeds, plants and cuttings by mail in such a condensed 

 form that I think it will be very useful to the members of the Club, and all 

 who read the reports. It reads as follows : 



" The late act of Congress in authorizing the sending of seeds, plants, 

 and cuttings by mail at a low rate of postage, is one of no small im- 

 portance to the great mass of the pepole, extended as they are over so 

 wide a district of country. It is often difficult in many parts of the coun- 

 try to procure fresh garden seeds, cuttings of rare trees, and new and val- 

 uable plants, and to order them by express, even on express routes, the 

 charges in many instances will exceed several times the value of the 

 things ordered. But the late act of Congress authorizes the sending of 

 seeds, cuttings, &c., at so low a rate of postage as to bring them within 

 the reach of all. The law specifies 'seeds, cuttings, bulbs, roots, and scions,' 

 which may be sent in packages not exceeding four pounds in weight, the 

 Bpecified limits of the law, at a rate of postage of two cents for every four 

 ounces, or the same for any additional fraction of four ounces, prepaid by 

 stamps. Formerly these things were subject to letter postage, and were 

 generally put up in oiled silk, which is quite expensive, but since the 

 reduction of postage this mode of carriage has been so extensively adopted 

 that paper has been prepared so as to render it impervious to water and 

 air, and is now sold at comparatively low prices. This paper is prepared 

 "by giving it a coat of boiled linseed oil, with a small quantity of dissolved 

 India-rubber added. Those who wish to prepai'e paper for their own use, 

 can make an article equally good by giving it a coat of linseed oil, and 

 when dry, or nearly so, give it a coat of shellac dissolved in alcohol, 

 reduced to the consistence of common varnish. Fine manilla paper should 

 be used. To insure the safe transportation of plants in the mail, the roots 

 should be protected with a covering of half an inch or an inch in thickness 

 of swamp moss, or that gathered from the logs or rocks found in deeply 

 shaded woods, and on the north side of steep hills. The moss should be 

 made moderately damp, and spread out upon the paper of suitable size, 

 and with a small portion of the moss mixed among the roots. The whole 

 is then rolled up snugly and tied, and then again covered with a wrapper 

 of common post-office paper, to receive the directions, and marked ' Seeds' 

 or ' Plants,' as the case may be." 



How TO Use Hen Manure. 



A correspondent of the above paper recommends mixing five bushels of 

 hen manure with five bushels of wood ashes, and one bushel of plaster. 

 This after being thoroughly incorporated, he would use for corn by placing 

 it on the hill, instead of under the seed. A medium sized handful is suffi- 

 cient for two hills, to be applied by sprinkling it over the ground after the 

 seed is planted. The mixture may be afterward advantageously applied 

 as a top-dressing. 



Mr. Wm. S. Carpenter objects to the use of ashes. He would much rather 

 mix the hen-droppings with muck or loam as a divisor, and apply the ashea 

 and plaster separately. 



