COLLECTING ECONOMIC PLANT DATA 41 



A large flat bag, or basket, is a great convenience for carrying prop- 

 agation material back to headquarters. Such bags and baskets are to be 

 found in almost any market place in Latin America. 



Preparation and Packing Methods 



Orchids, pineapple shoots, cacti, and similar plants require no pack- 

 ing other than a stout, well-ventilated basket, or box, to prevent crush- 

 ing and rotting. 



Small plants can often be moved from place to place during the grow- 

 ing season with no great difficulty, as anyone who has had gardening 

 experience knows. Usually it is merely a matter of disturbing the dirt 

 around the root system as little as possible and also of controlling the 

 evaporation so that the plant will not wilt unduly during the operation. 

 Often, under these conditions, plants can be transported considerable 

 distances. With sufficient care, even young trees can be moved from the 

 forest to a city plot. Under tropical conditions, fairly large seedlings of 

 jungle trees have withstood a journey of 2 weeks or more. In a particular 

 case, small wicker baskets were woven from split stems of tropical 

 vines; the baskets lined with broad leaves; and the seedlings, after hav- 

 ing been carefully dug up with a sizable clump of dirt about the roots, 

 were placed in the baskets. About half of the leaves were cut off to 

 reduce the evaporation of moisture; also the plants were watered fre- 

 quently and kept in a shaded place. 



To ship plants rooted in dirt is not always possible or even desirable, 

 owing to prohibitive transportation charges, and because the soil may 

 contain dangerous insects or diseases. In fact, the quarantine laws of 

 many countries forbid the importation of soil. To comply with such 

 laws, living plants can be grown in pots filled with sphagnum moss. 

 They can be shipped long distances, even by sea, provided they are 

 enclosed in a specially constructed box known as a Wardian case. This 

 is nothing more than an oblong, stout box, tightly constructed, with a 

 space at the bottom to accommodate the potted plants, a solid back, 

 and a glass front. Two small openings, covered with screen, are placed 

 at the top for ventilation. 



A sort of miniature Wardian case was used successfully to ship small 

 2-inch forest seedlings from Brazil to Washington by air express. The 

 seedlings were lifted carefully and the dirt removed; three or four of 

 them were made into packets by surrounding the roots with moist 

 sphagnum moss, wrapping securely in wax paper, and then tying tightly 

 just at the base of the stems. The packets were attached to the inside of 

 a small wicker basket, or a tin box with a portion of the side cut out to 

 permit ventilation. An outer covering of thin cloth was sewed on. 



Under winter conditions, almost any woody plant, even huge trees, 

 can be moved about at will, but often it is necessary, or more conven- 

 ient, to utilize sections of stems which can be used for grafting or bud- 

 ding. In many instances a plant can be propagated by using pieces of 

 roots or stems as cuttings. 



Shoots or pieces of stems to be used for grafting are known as scions, 

 and they must be selected carefully from new growth to ensure getting 

 vigorous material which will unite readily with the tissues of the plant 

 upon which they are to be grafted. Budwood usually is selected from 

 year-old stems which have vigorous-looking buds. In budding opera- 

 tions a small, thin rectangle of the stem bark is cut to include a single 

 bud. This layer is removed and inserted into a small slit in the bark of 



