products into cold wax emulsions, dipping 
briefly into hot melted paraffin, spraying with 
wax emulsions, foaming and dripping wax 
emulsions onto rotating brushes, and using 
solid cake wax against rotating brushes, which 
coat and polish a product at the same time. 
Waxes have been tested on many kinds of 
produce and nursery stock as shown in this 
bibliography. Commercial use, however, is 
relatively limited. The waxing process is 
recommended only where research has shown 
benefits, such as reduced shriveling or im- 
proved appearance. Waxing is recommended 
only on good quality products; it does not 
improve the quality of inferior products, 
Sometimes it increases decay. Deterioration 
resulting from defects, injury, and disease is 
likely to progress regardless of whether 
products have been wax-treated, 
Horticultural crops commonly waxed include 
tomatoes, peppers, citrus, cantaloups, cucum- 
bers, rutabagas, rose bushes, and numerous 
kinds of trees and shrubs during storage or 
transplanting. Other crops occasionally given 
a wax coating include turnips, parsnips, 
carrots, eggplants, small summer squash, 
winter squash, potatoes, sweetpotatoes, nec- 
tarines, apples, pears, and honeydew melons. 
Waxing of leafy vegetables and of bunched root 
crops has given unfavorable results (183), 
Extensive information on waxing nursery stock, 
dormant fruit trees, cion wood, and cuttings 
is given in (248) and (250). 
References of a general nature on wax and 
related coatings for horticultural crops, which 
detail both experimental benefits and problems 
encountered, include (1, 3, 5, 8, 17, 18, 28, 40, 
41, 44, 45, 71, 96, 101, 103, 182, 183, 248, 250, 
256). Some of these reports are no longer 
available from the author or institution but 
may be found in libraries, 
Food and Drug Administration (Department 
of Health, Education and Welfare) regulations 
on the use of food coatings, petroleum wax, 
petrolatum, and so forth, are given in (287) 
and (288), 
