Plant Material for Long-Distance Shipment 3 



diK-tion or may l)e made from stroncr cotton-cloth material. Place 

 only one kind' of seed in a sack, put one label containing the re- 

 quired data on the inside of the sack, and fasten the sack securely. 

 If this small individual sack is to make a long sea journey, wrap 

 it in two or three thicknesses of newspaper, tying with a string, 

 then rewrap in oiled paper or hea^y manila paper previously dipped 

 in melted paraffin. These precautions are necessary to exclude 

 moisture, which is veiy likely to destroy the viability of the seed on 

 a long sea voyage. Put the duplicate label under the string used 

 in tying the oiled paper or paraffin paper. It is best to write the 

 labels on good, smooth, strong, white paper, using a common lead 

 pencil. Do not use ink or indelible pencil. Ink is liable to blur 

 if moistened, and the same is true of indelible pencils. A small 

 bag wrapped as suggested above may be considered the unit packet. 

 Directions for assembling these unit packets into larger packages 

 (see Pis. I and II) or forwarding them singly will be found un- 

 der •• Special shipping directions." Where a ntmiber of the small 

 sacks are to be assembled into a larger bundle, it is not necessary 

 to wrap each sack individually in oiled or paraffined paper. It is 

 desirable to put emphasis on the wrapping in oiled or paraffined 

 paper, for it is found that seeds passing through the Tropics quickly 

 lose their o-erminating power if subjected to changes in humidity, 

 due to the lack of a proper moisture-preventive covering. 



Seeds of beans, corn, wheat, rice, and related crops coming from 

 warm countries are liable to be infested with weevils. To avoid this, it 

 is advisable to give the seeds a 2i-hour treatment with carbon bisul- 

 phide prior to jDacking. Carbon bisulphide is common and cheap 

 throughout the world and can be found in almost any drug store or 

 apothecary shop. Put the little packages of seeds while still in the 

 cotton sack in a tin pail having a good tight lid or in a tight box of 

 any kind. A pail or box holding 6 or 8 quarts will answer for most 

 lots of seed. Pour an ounce of carbon bisulphide on a piece of cotton 

 Ijatting and lay this on top of the seed. Fasten the lid and leave for 

 'J:^ hours. The carbon bisulphide is destructive of insect life but is 

 not injurious to the seed. 



PACKING AND SHIPPING NUTS 



Certain nuts, including hickory nuts, walnuts, filberts, peanuts, 

 and pecans, maintain their viability for considerable periods and 

 may, therefore, be handled and packed as described for dry seeds. 

 Other nuts, like chestnuts and acorns, are more or less short lived and 

 must be handled carefully. Xearly all acorns and chestnuts coming 

 from the Orient are liable to be infested with the larvae of various 

 species of beetles. The best method of forwarding stich material is 

 to pack it in tight boxes, either cracker tins or stout wooden boxes, 

 using dry coarse charcoal and dry sifted sphagnum moss as packing 

 material. (See PL III.) The moss and charcoal should be mixed 

 in about equal quantities by bulk. If sphagnum moss is not avail- 

 able, use charcoal alone or charcoal and grotmd coconut fiber. (PL 

 III.) The last material is commonly called ''coir." The charcoal 

 should be coarse, that is. in pieces one-eighth to one-fourth of an 

 inch in size. After making sure that the acorns or chestnuts are 

 fre-h and that they do not show weevil holes, a layer of the packing 



