68 BULLETIN ITU, U. B. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In these bundles the trees stand transportation well and they do 

 not heat or dry out readily. Packed in this manner, they have been 

 left in a warn! place for 6 days and were cool and moist when the 

 bundle was opened. 



SHIPPING. 



Because of the danger which accompanies delays en route of 

 growth starting, of drying out, of heating, or of holding up planting 

 operations, shipments' of nursery stock should preferably be by 

 express; or, if the packages are small, by mail. Shipments by freight 

 are much cheaper, and for distances up to 300 miles have proved very 

 satisfactory in California. Special arrangements can sometimes be 

 made with freight agents to put a shipment through promptly, but 

 the risk is greater than with express shipments. Shipments are 

 liable to be delayed under the best of conditions, because express or 

 railroad officers do not always realize the necessity of prompt de- 

 livery. To avoid this, it is believed best for the shipper to indicate 

 plainly on the outside of each crate that the contents are "perish- 

 able," that they contain " live plants " the " prompt delivery " of 

 which is " necessary," or some similar phrase. Night shipments are 

 preferable to day shipments. 



DISEASES AND INJURIES IN NURSERY. 



DAMPINGOFF. 



Damping-off is a source of great danger to young seedlings. This 

 disease is most commonly caused by one of three fungi, Pythium 

 bebaryanum Hesse, Rhizoctonia sp., and Fusarium sp., and its pres- 

 ence in a bed is indicated in a very characteristic manner. The stems 

 of seedlings attacked exhibit a rather dirty, watery, or rotten appear- 

 ance at the surface of the ground and for a quarter of an inch or 

 more upward. The stems become flaccid and limp in this section, 

 and the seedlings topple over unless they are held up by surrounding 

 plants. There is no recovery. Seedlings are most susceptible to 

 danger from this source during a period of from 2 to 6 weeks fol- 

 lowing germination, and some species are more susceptible than 

 others. The seedling may even be attacked before it appears above 

 the ground. 



