The Preservation of Flowers. 91 



the empty trays, even if you are at the mercy of an 

 express company. 



Mixed colors shipped on special orders, should be 

 packed in light wood boxes, with the foliage in the 

 center. Between each layer put a strip of wax paper 

 to keep them from bruising, and when finished, place 

 a small piece of ice on the foliage, binding both it and 

 the stems so there can be no motion, and consequent 

 injury if the box is overturned. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

 THE PRESERVATION OF FLOWERS. 



The usual method of placing roses in an ice box in 

 order to keep them, is a mistake, and it is worse than 

 a mistake to "pickle" them for a prospective future 

 demand. 



My attention was once called to the fact that a pot 

 of roses was placed in the unused ash pit of a cool cel- 

 lar. This ash pit connected with an old-fashioned 

 chimney, up which a strong draft constantly passed. 

 These roses were forgotten for several days, but to the 

 surprise of all who saw them, they were in perfect con- 

 dition when found, and greatly superior in size to 

 what they were when placed there. 



This suggested to me that we might be pursuing a 

 wrong practice in placing roses in a damp, cold box, 



