32 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



NOVBMBEB 11, 1909. 



generally made, to cover extra expense 

 of crates and packing, as plants in pots 

 require much more room and care; it also 

 adds considerably to the expense of ship- 

 ping, owing to increased weight. 



Cratiog or Boxing 



The above conditions being settled sat- 

 isfactorily, the next step is to prepare 

 the plants for crating or boxing. This 

 will depend to a great extent upon the 

 season of the year and the class of 

 plants. 



Such plants as table ferns, asparagus, 

 small roses, chrysanthemums, geraniums, 

 bedding plants, and plants of like nature, 

 should be knocked out of the pots, a lit- 

 tle of the top soil removed, and each 

 plant wrapped in a small piece of paper, 

 with the top open in mild weather, and 

 with larger papers and the top closed in 

 colder weather. 



In long distance shipments a little 

 damp moss should be placed around the 

 root of each plant. 



Larger plants, such as Boston ferns, 

 araucarias, ficus, palms and flowering 

 plants, should first have paper wrapped 

 around the ball of soil, or pot, and then 

 a larger piece of paper, covering the en- 

 tire plant and coming high enough to 



is the boxes or crates to be used in pack- 

 ing. 



Crates as light as possible, consistent 

 with strength jind safety, should be se- 

 lected and well nailed. 



Experience has taught us that as a 

 rule plants travel better, arrive in~^tter 

 condition and give more satisfaction 

 when packed upright in light, strqng 

 crates, with plenty of ventilation in sum- 

 mer or in mild weather. In cold weather 

 boxes should be used instead of crates, 

 and should be well lined with paper. In 

 extremely cold weather, sheet wadding 

 also should be used to keep out the cold. 



In every instance the plants should be 

 securely cleated, to hold them in place 

 in the crates, should they be accidentally 

 or carelessly tipped over while being 

 handled in transit. 



Packing Plants Upright. 



There may be some objections to the 

 packing of plants upright, on the ground 

 of extra expense of packing and trans- 

 portation; but I believe that in ninety- 

 nine out of every hundred cases the bet- 

 ter condition of plants, and consequently 

 greater satisfaction, will more than 

 make up for the additional expense. 



I would strongly urge that no boxes or 



^v 



Harry E. PhilpotU 



(Mr. Philpott Is Vice-president of the Canadian Horticultural Society, and In due order of things 

 should become President at the election to be held at Toronto today.) 



prevent the tops from being bruised in 

 transit. In the case of flowering plants, 

 and plants with tender foliage, tissue 

 paper should be used inside the news- 

 paper or other heavier paper, to prevent 

 bruising. 



Best Style of Boxes or Crates. 



The plants being wrapped and col- 

 lected, the next thing to be considered 



crates weigh more than 150 pounds, as 

 they can be handled by the express com- 

 pany much more e^ily. This would then 

 prevent the danger of their being tilted 

 on end, and in some cases turned upside 

 down. 



If, ht)wever, it seems desirable to pack 

 small plants of carnations, roses, chrysan- 

 themums, and other stock, lying down, 

 then comparatively small boxes should be 



selected, and plenty of excelsior used in 

 the bottom and between the layers of 

 plants to prevent heating and bruising 

 of the foliage. 



The crates or boxes should always be 

 well cleated over the top, to secure a low 

 freight rate and the special plant rate 

 of twenty per cent less than regular mer- 

 chandise rate by express, which is al- 

 lowed only when plants are well crated 

 or boxed. 



The Lettering on the Boxes. 



Crates or boxes should be plainly 

 marked on top with the name and ad- 

 dress of the consignee; also marked, 

 "This side up with care," "Live plants, 

 perishable," "Keep from extreme heat 

 and cold." Also in express shipments 

 there should be a notice calling' the at- 

 tention of the express agent to the classi- 

 fication, and to the fact that the ship- 

 ment should be billed at twenty per cent 

 *less than regular merchandise rate. 



In this paper I have treated the sub- 

 ject in a general way, and taken up 

 points that are of importance to both 

 consignor and consignee. There axe, how- 

 ever, special kinds and sizes of plants 

 that require special packing and hand- 

 ling, and they must be treated accord- 

 ingly, but I cannot enter into details 

 here. 



One thing I have always been inter- 

 ested in and have found of great benefit, 

 and that is to watch the various ship- 

 ments unpacked at the conventions and 

 exhibitions, and profit by adopting their 

 good points and avoiding their mistakes. 



This one rule always applies: Pack 

 lightly but securely, with plenty of ven- 

 tilation in warm weather, and secure 

 from frost in cold weather. 



Cut Flowers. 



Now as to cut flowers. In the first 

 place, I shall dwell mostly on the carna- 

 tion, as that is the flower chiefly affect- 

 ing the Canadian florist. 



Carnations should be propagated from 

 clean, healthy stock. I prefer stock 

 grown outside during the summer; these 

 should be properly and carefully handled, 

 to keep them free from disease at all 

 times. 



After they are put in the houses, 

 which is generally done during the months 

 of July and August, they should not be 

 allowed to come into bloom until the last 

 part of September or the first part of 

 October. This should be done by care- 

 fully pinching back any shoots that aro 

 showing buds too early. Care must now 

 be taken to have the bloom in the proper 

 stage of development when cut, so that 

 it will arrive at its destination in the 

 best of condition. 



Growing Carnations for Shipping. 



It is not a hard matter to arrive at a 

 decision as to how carnations should be 

 cut and handled during the early part 

 of the season, or until the middle of 

 November or the first part of December, 

 when the plants have been given prac- 

 tically no feeding at all, but the hardest 

 time of the year to ship carnations and 

 have them reach their destination in per- 

 fect condition, is from December 1 to 

 March 1, and again in the spring when 

 the weather gets extremely warm and the 

 plants make a quick, soft growth. There- 

 fore we will take into consideration the 

 proper way to handle carnations through 

 the middle of winter. 



In the first place, the plants should 

 never be given' an uneven temperature at 

 night, but the temperature should be 



