324 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
for winter or at any time of the year, they should be kept as 
cool as ]jossible, just above freezing and at as uniform a 
temperature as can be maintained. When in storage, the 
best packing material is old rotten hemlock sawdust or 
sphagnum moss. The roots must be entirely excluded from 
the air and light, but any green foliage, like leaves of straw¬ 
berry plants, must be brought in contact with the light. 
The packing material must not be wet, it should be just 
slightly moist. If too wet, it is sure to rot the plants and 
spoil them. Raspberry, blackberry, currant, gooseberry 
and other entirely dormant plants with no green foliage on 
them can be safely packed in large boxes with slightly damp 
moss or sawdust, and entirely excluded from the air, or they 
may be stacked up in tiers in the packing house with moss 
or sawdust placed between the layers as packing. When 
packing such plants for the winter, unless the temperature 
goes much below freezing, I would not press them too 
closely together. 
Strawberry plants for storage are best packed in double 
slatted crates with damp moss, and a slight quantity of 
earth on their roots. They may be stored out doors during 
mild weather of late fall or early winter, but during the 
severest spells of weather, should be placed in the storage 
house until warm spells come, when they must again be set 
outside. It is impossible to keep strawberry plants in a 
house cellar or in any warm damp place during the winter. 
If it were not for the extreme cold spells, we would rather 
chance them outside, frozen up, than inside the best storage 
house in America. It is extremely difhcult to store straw¬ 
berry plants for the winter and have them come out in the 
spring in good shape. We have adopted a plan of digging 
large quantities in the fall and heeling them in the soil, just 
outside the packing house ready to use early in the spring 
before we can get out on our open fields. During mild spells 
of the winter, we often are able to shovel off the snow from 
these trenched-in plants, and get out quantities for shipping 
to the far south. We rarely ever have any bad luck with 
the other small fruit plants when placed in storage for the 
winter. They came out fresh and green, and often in far 
better condition than plants that are allowed to remain 
outdoors all winter exposed to the freezing and thawing of 
open winters such as we sometimes have in our locality. 
When strawbeny plants are brought to the packing house 
during the regular shipping season, they should be placed in 
compartments well labeled, with the roots buried in damp 
sawdust. If they are stood up on the roots, one layer deep, 
the plants will keep perfectly for several days, or until shipped 
out. 
In shipping strawberry plants, there are several packages 
that are satisfactory. For large quantities, there is nothing 
better than the double slatted crate. This is usually made 
to hold from 1500 to 2000 plants, depending on the variety 
and the part of the country they are grown in. Flimsy 
packages that go to pieces enroute, are no good to ship 
strawberry or any other kind of plants in, even though they 
may save the pa3mient of a little extra express charges. 
Large heavy crates and boxes should be avoided. It makes 
the receiver mad, when he thinks of the saving that might 
have been made if the nurserymen had used a little more 
judgment in selecting a lighter package. The 32 quart 
berry crate, such as is used largely for shipping berries 
along the Atlantic coast, is almost an ideal package for 
shipping strawberry plants, all such packages 'must be well 
lined next to the wood with oiled paper. Small orders of 
200 to 500 plants are best packed in, and carry better, in 
market baskets. The market basket must be well lined with 
oiled paper and the plants stood up in the baskets, the roots 
pointing down and well interlaced with damp moss. Every 
bunch must be entirely surrounded with damp moss and if 
there is any space not filled out by the plants and moss, 
it must be filled up with excelsior or straw. The top of the 
basket must be covered with gauze or coarse burlap to protect 
plants from too much exposure to the elements and from 
horses chewing at them while they are standing about express 
offices or in express wagons. Large orders to very distant 
points can be most economically sent by express in market 
baskets. Two sizes can be purchased, the 8 quart and the 
12 quart size, to suit different sized orders. 
Plants that are to go by mail should be tied in small 
bunches of 13 plants each, and in packing, the moss should 
be so arranged that it will entirely envelop each and every 
bunch. The plants should first be done up in a bundle, 
using moss for packing material and oiled paper to cover the 
roots and moss; leaving the tops or leaves of the plants 
open and exposed to the air. Around this package there 
must be wrapped a sheet of heavy cardboard so that its 
edges will extend a little farther out than the leaves of the 
strawberry plants. This is to protect the leaves and crowns 
from bruising while in the mails. The whole package should 
then be wrapped up tight just like a package of sugar; the 
tag, with address and shipping directions, being bound to 
the package under the cord; not allowed to swing free, so 
that any mail clerk can catch hold of it and tear it off. The 
package is then weighed, parcel post stamps affixed at the 
rate*of one cent to each three ounces, a couple of holes 
punched through the outer paper to allow the steam and 
moisture to escape from the leaves and the package is ready 
to mail. The only way parcel post affects the plant business 
is that it allows us to send ii pounds in one package when 
formerly, we were allowed to send but fom pounds. The 
postage (8 cents per pound) is the same as formerly. We like 
this uniform rate better than the zone system. By the 
parcel post, from 300 to 500 plants can be sent in one pack¬ 
age, and this is a great saving in long distance shipments. 
Nothing equals the United States Mail service for “getting 
there Eli” no matter what are its faults. This taking away 
of the small packages from the express companies, is going 
to have the effect of their handling the larger shipments 
in better shape. The parcel post, no matter what its faults 
are, is the greatest thing from an economical standpoint that 
has been done by the United States Government for -the 
common people since I was bom. The system will be per¬ 
fected from time to time until it will be just what we all 
want. 
No matter how plants are packed, they should be properly 
labeled with wood labels, well and legibly printed or written 
with indelible pencil. If every bunch is not labeled, the 
different varieties must be separated and kept apart with 
