SOME IMPLEMENTS AXD DEl'/CKS. 



Fig. 6. Reliable Seed case. 



alcohol. Into this alcohol I dip my tools as soon as I am 

 done with any pollination, to destroy any pollen grains 

 that may adhere to them, and which would be likely to 

 interfere with a subsequent operation. Finally, behind 



a spring in the 

 lid is a note- 

 book. I find 

 V e r }• small 

 surgeon's 

 scissors the 

 best imple- 

 ment for 

 opening flovv- 

 e r s , The 



smallest steel crochet-hook is very useful in hooking 

 out the anthers of many species. I make a spreader, for 

 applying the pollen, out of a large pin. I cut off the 

 head and flatten the other end, and then insert the large 

 end into a handle. This makes a tiny scalpel, which is 

 worth more for the purpose of applying pollen than any 

 number of camel's-hair brushes. I have tried many 

 bags, and several patterns have been manufactured for 

 me, but none suit so well as the common manilla grocer's 

 bags. For most plants the '4 -lb. bag is suitable. While 

 the bag is still f]at, a soft string is run through two of 

 its edges about an inch from the open end, and the string 

 is tied at one of the edges to keep it from falling out. 

 tig. 5 explains the method. The bag.s are dipped into 

 water an instant a few minutes before they are used, so 

 that they will be soft enough to tie snugly about the 

 plant. It is now a pleasure to go a-poUinating. 



Reliable Seed-cases (Figs. 6 and 7). — It requires the 

 loss of but one season's seeds by mice to convince the 

 experimenter that tin seed-boxes are a necessity Fig 



Fig 7. Reliable Seed-cases in Position. 



■'6 represents a box which we find exceedingly useful. It 

 is 9 inches long, jy^ inches wide and 5 inches deep. The 

 cover slides back. There is a little rim or elevation on 

 the front end of this cover, made by turning up the tin. 

 which serves two or three good purposes. This rim 

 strikes the pigeon-hole when the box is shoved in, caus- 



ing the box to close tightly. It also prevents the box 

 from going in too far, in case the pigeon-hole is too deep. 

 Then when the box is shut and shoved in, the thumb is 

 pressed against this lid while the box is drawn out, so 

 that the box is self- 

 opening and self-clos- 

 ing. These boxes are 

 placed loosely in a 



pigeon-hole case, and rf i^f,"-- i^j-^^ 

 may be taken out en- 

 tirely if occasion re- ■■'■'M 

 quires. On the front 

 of the box is a slot yig. ts. Seed Protector. 

 into which a label is 



dropped, and this label can be changed at any time. I 

 have one case containing a smaller size of boxes, but 

 we do not find them so useful as the size here described. 



Fig. 



A Cheap Ventilator. 



This smaller size is 4 '2 inches wide and 4 inches deep. 



Seed Protector (Fig. 8). — This is simply a box a 

 foot square, with a wire-cloth bottom, for setting over 

 papers'Jarid pans of seeds which are being dried. 



A Cheap Ventilator (Figs. 9 and lo). — This is a 



Fig. 10. A Cheap Ventilator. 

 modification and improvement of an old device. 



It is 



