140 



TWENTY-NINTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



allow a diffused light to pass in until the very end of the stay of the 

 boxes. 



After numerous experiments at different temperatures it was found 

 that 86°, with a variation not to exceed 9° more or less (77°-95°), was 

 most favorable. 



Now let us follow a box packed as we have explained. After it has 

 been in the hothouse twenty-four hours the buds start to swell; toward 

 the fourth day they have grown quite a little, and about the sixth day 

 they may be one inch or more in length. The callus has clearly 

 started and a whitish streak of new tissue can be seen along the section 

 of the graft. Rootlets have also started on many of the stalks. This 

 is the time to remove the top covering so that the exact condition of 

 the buds can be seen. If the start is even on all the surface a new 

 layer of chopped moss and charcoal should be spread over the growing 

 buds. A one-inch layer is thick enough and will retain sufficient 

 moisture, as the callusing and the buds having started, the danger of 

 drying out by the top is not feared. If the box shows an uneven vege- 

 tation — dry places, moldy spots, etc. — the thickness of this new layer 

 of moss can be varied on the different parts; it should be made thicker 

 where it appears dry and thinner where it appears moldy. If some 

 spots seem to be decaying they may be left uncovered for a day and 

 then only a thin layer of moss placed over them. At the end of three 

 or four days this new layer should be removed and replaced by a new 

 layer half an inch thick. 



To remove the top covering of moss the easiest way is to have a large 

 box, with two cross pieces fastened on the top. The box of grafts is 

 then carefully placed on these cross pieces, and with the hand or a wooden 

 spatula the moss is made to drop into the large box below. The moss 

 and charcoal which fall into the box are carefully mixed again, and 

 without wetting are used for the new layer which is replaced over the 

 grafts; there is enough moisture in this newly mixed moss to keep the 

 growth in good condition. 



The question of keeping the proper amount of moisture in the box 

 was found to be a hard one to solve. At first, sprinkling lightly the 

 top cover was tried, but this was not found satisfactory. The method 

 which has proved to be the most valuable consists in giving the boxes 

 a bath; that is, dipping them in water kept at the room temperature. 

 The water must not go above the lower four inches of moss, and it must 

 be allowed to drip out before the box is replaced on the shelf. The first 

 bath is given when the first examination of the boxes takes place (i. e., 

 on the sixth day); then another one is given on the tenth day, and 

 finally another about the fourteenth day before they are taken out. An 

 iron, wooden, or cement vat is used for the dipping. The dipping of 



