Plant Material for Long-Distance Shipment 5 



enoiigli j^acking to keep each fruit and each layer of fruits well 

 -epa rated. 



Fruits of this nature may be j^acked in small wooden or tin boxes. 

 The wooden boxes, if sufficiently strong, will need no additional 

 protection. Tin boxes, however, especially if the tin is thin, should 

 be wrapped in several thicknesses of heavy newspaper, then in 

 strong manila paper, and finally covered with a cotton bag sewed on. 



Cacao seeds are soft and ferment and mold very easily. To be 

 certain of their viability they must be gathered when fully mature 

 and packed immediately. Coarse charcoal is the best packing mate- 

 rial for them. Some of the best results in forwarding these seeds 

 liave been secured through sending the entire cacao pod without 

 1 reaking or mutilating it in any way. The pod contains numerous 

 seeds, and as a rule there is sufficient moisture in it to bring the seed 

 through in fairly good shape. The pods, often measuring 4 to 6 

 inches in length, should be packed in coarse charcoal, using either 

 sironof wooden or tin boxes as carriers. It is the practice of the 

 gi^owei^ of cacao to forward pods containing seeds after dipping the 

 pods in paraffin. Xo advantage has been found in this treatment : 

 in fact, paraffined pods seem more inclined to ferment than those 

 not so treated. Plenty of charcoal should be used, in order to 

 thoroughly surround the pod with the antiseptic material. 



Of all the seeds in this list, those of mangosteen have proved the 

 most difficult to handle. Tliese seeds are short lived, and for this 

 reason it is difficult to transport them any great distance. The diffi- 

 culty of transporting the seeds and the fact that most of the usual 

 methods fail in attempts to propagate the plant no doubt account in 

 large measure for its rarity and limited distribution. The mangosteen 

 is one of the most delicious and highly prized tropical fruits. Many 

 attempts have been made to establish it in some of our tropical re- 

 gions, but with the exception of a few scattered trees there are no 

 plantings of mangosteens on this continent. 



The following specific instructions are offered for the securing, 

 handling, packing, and shipping of seed of this fruit, in the hope 

 that with the directions closely followed sufficient live plants may 

 be secured to establish plantations of the trees in our tropical posses- 

 sions. 



Gather and select fully matured and perfect fruits and have 

 everything ready for packing the seeds as soon as they are cleaned 

 and dried. The seeds will dry in a few minutes, and drying should 

 be done very carefully and always in the shade. Be sure that the 

 seeds are plump and sound. Many of the seeds while appearing good 

 are liable to be aborted and will ferment and sour when packed. 

 Coir dust is the best packing material to use. This is nearly always 

 available in the Tropics, where the mangosteen grows. Charcoal may 

 be used, though it is not recommended unless coir dust is unavailable. 

 The best receptacles for packing are small wooden or tin boxes such 

 as are commonly used throughout most parts of the world for wafers 

 and biscuits. These boxes usually measure 8 by 4 by -1 inches to 10 

 by 5 by 5 inches. The coir dust should be slightly moistened, and 

 this is one of the difficidt features of the procedure. Ordinarily 

 steaming the coir dust for a few minutes or liolding the receptacle 

 containiner the dust over boilino- water for a short time will moisten 



