FKIJKUAUY 28, 1007. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



1 08V 



i**^*^' 







The Schillo Establishment, where Pecky Cypress has Become a Leading Specialty. 



Pecky cypress is like niiy otlicr t*y- 

 prcss except that it looks :is though it 

 were full of worm holes, but isn't; it is 

 especially like other cypress in that it i 

 has to be open air dried in the south. : 

 It is dried until it weighs three pounds 

 to the board foot, or a,UOO pounds to j 

 the thousand feet. Consequently 10,000 

 feet will make a minimum car. The 

 Schillo Lumber Co. had cars shipped ili- 

 roct from the mills in Louisiana to flo- 

 rists in ]\'ew England and to growers in 

 the far west, and it is only a (juestion of 

 time when all growers will use it. If 

 the local lumber yard won't carry it, so 

 that a few hundred feet can be had when 

 wanted, growers can club together and 

 get in a car. 



But it doesn 't take so very many feet 

 of bench to call for a minimum car of 

 pecky cypress. It conies 1x0 inches and 

 the boards eight, twelve or sixteen feet 

 long, so they will just reach the cross- 

 pieces with posts set four feet apart. 

 With about an inch between for drain- 

 age, a bench four feet wide will take 

 seven boards, or three and one half feet 

 lumber measure for each lineal foot of 

 bench. Side j)ieces bring it up to four 

 and one-half feet. Consequently a min- 

 imum car, 10,000 feet of lumber, would 

 8utiice for only twenty-two benches 4x 

 100. The average car contains 13,000 

 to 15,000 feet. 



The Review has several times called 

 attention to pecky cypress as meriting a 

 trial by all greenhouse owners for com- 

 parison with hemlock and has urged the 

 selling agency, which markets the output 

 of the cypress mills, to arrange so that 

 any grower could buy in moderate quan- 

 tities, as a basis for building up a profit- 

 able trade in this long neglected product 

 of the southern forests. It is j)roinised 

 that sonu'thing soon may be doing along 

 these lines, for it is reported tliat one 

 mill now has SOO.OQO feet of IxG pecky 

 boards on hand. 



PACKING FOR SHIPMENT. 



bo- 



(In a (lisoiissidn i>f sppcinl express rates b 

 fore the Society ot" Soiulierii Florists at tlie Ne,. 

 Orle.iiis Convention. C. W. EielilinR coiieliuleil 

 Willi a ft'W words on paiking. 1 



As regards ])roi)er packing, tiiis sub- 

 ject treated in detail would till a book, 

 and I shall confine myself to pointing 

 out a few iidvantages and abuses in 

 packing. In the jiroper jiacking of 

 plants a nundier of things havr to be 

 considered, and it is as didicult to teadi 



packing by a Icctuic ;is it, is to cure a 

 diseiise by correspoiKlciic'c. i;.\|iciiciicr, 

 |)ractice and good judgnirnt aic tin- only 

 teachers, and here is where the iiecfssity 

 comes in of a young man to learn his 

 trade under an experienced foreman. 



A Recent Experience. 



With an order before you in tli(> pa<k- 

 iiig shed, look at the naturi; of the ship- 

 ment and the distanct^ it has to travel. 

 Then pick out a l)ox of proper size .'tnd 

 strength. Too often unnecessary ciiarocs 

 are paitl on boxes entirely too laro.- ;iiid 

 heavy for the contents. I have hne a 

 striking example of how not t<i do it, 

 and when this box arrived I called in 

 several brother llorists to witness thi! 

 weight, style of packing and condition 

 of contents. The box was ivceived with 

 a few small j)alms, ])rimnlas, Lorraine 

 begoiuas and cyclamens valued at .* 10. !•."•. 

 The box and paper alone weighiMl eighty- 

 three pounds; the entire weight was ISO 

 pounds; express charges .'{jG.I:.', at special 

 rate, while tiie plants were worth, as 

 above stated, .^lO.D.l. 



On opening the monster we found 

 that the plants had slipped thnnigh the 

 cleats, and we pulled out a mess of 

 ptiper, root bails, l)rokeii l.oiraiiies and 

 ))riimilas, with enough of riiashe<l cyida- 

 men to complete the limit. What w<! 

 had to show for our if 17 was hrirdly 

 worth 17 cents, except the box, which is 

 good for years to come. We complained 

 to the shipper, stating all the fticts, and 

 expressed our belief that he wtis ignoraid 

 of the careless way in which the ship- 

 ment was h.'indled. lint h(» had our 

 money, and simj)ly .advised us to get our 

 dtimages out of tlie express company, 

 wiio was not in the least to biame, as it 

 was a jihysical impossibility to damage 

 tht' monstrous box which vimi si><> before 

 you in jierfect condition. 



Good Packing the Rule. 



As a rule it is a pleasure to np(>ii ;i 

 box of jilants from most of our large 

 shipping houses. N'oiing roses in large 

 collection, wr:i|ipei| li\c of a kind in 

 paper witii a long wooden label, a layer 

 of p.'iper dividing the varieties, the liox 

 well filled so the jdiiiits can not nio\e in 

 transit; ihi'v will not get mixed or dam- 

 aged, and the box being of proper 

 strength, tlie express ch.-nges will add 

 but little to tiie cost of the plaids. 



Soft stulV, sindi as geraniums, helio- 

 tropes, etc.. in;iy be jiackeil in the same 

 manner with d.-itup sphagnuin at tin.' 



roots, and dry excelsior or moss around 

 the t'oli;io(. |(ii- protection. I'ack(>d in 

 this iii.'inner w (^ lia\e icceived laroe boxes 

 of adi:intiuns from Wasiiinotnu. |). ('., 

 .•in<l never lost over thive per cent of the 

 ternler plants. Large shipnnMits of the 

 tender plnnts should he p;nked in sepa- 

 rate boxes of 1 1'lun forty to fifty jiounds 

 each, or if packed in largo boxes, u 

 wooden partition slunild 1h> nailed in 

 .-il'ter tJH' liox is halt' tilleil so tlu^ bottom 

 layers will not liave to cariv the vntire 

 Weight of the contents. Heating and 

 decay iii'e mucii easier a\dided in' this 

 precaution. 



Large cyclamens in bloom, Lt)rraine 

 jiegonias, Adiantum I'.arleyense and 

 jihmts ol' this nature tr;i\cl best in the 

 jiots, standing upright in the box, the 

 l)ox crated to the full height of the 

 plants, which inii-t be stakeil and 

 wrapped with from four to six thick- 

 nesses ol' paper. Tiylit packing be- 

 tween tlie pots i- essential to avoid 

 slipping. 



Large pahus, ;uanc;irias, draca'nas, 

 etc., Willi solid pot i>alls, slnuild be 

 cle.ited to the <'nds of the box, foliage to 

 tiie center, (ireat care must be used to 

 wiap .and tie tln^ root balls, :is other- 

 wise they will slip through the cleats 

 and daniage is th<' residl. Such large 

 plants slionhl go by freight, .at ;i season 

 when .d;image by lie.-it or cold is least 

 expected. 



hiinng warm weather, vviiiilat ing holes 

 must lie ciil in llie lioxes, .-ind pridected 

 with wire cloth against r.its. Ouring 

 cold A\eather iioxes iniist b.' lined with 

 several layers of paper and cott<ui, or 

 corrugatetl |>asiebo.ird. W'e have re- 

 ceived cases (d' p.alnis in coj.l vve.ather, 

 the loliage wrappeil in paper. ;ind the 

 spaces between the pi.ants entirely tilled 

 out vuth short (III straw. This is light 

 and a gooij pinicctoi aL;ain^t zero 

 weather. 



Large roses. >|iriilis and tiees for 

 -iioit <lislaiice shipping .are liest [lacked 

 in bales. |);ini|( str.avv i)etween and 

 around the roots, ;», Layer of dry material 

 over this, and tiie bjile well iie<l with 

 rope; over this a covering of burlap to 

 make .-I (dean jiackage that will travel 

 witii safety ;ind at special rate. 



I'or freiolit shipments whi< h aie some- 

 iiiiie< weeks in tr;insit, strong boxes 

 with iron corner strajis are |OeferabIe, 

 and plenty of tm)isture at tiie roots is 

 the most essiTitial necessity i,, i||i< stvhi 

 of p.acking. 



