See photo (on page one) of market beds ready for Winter 
mulching. Note setting board of sufficient length to cross three 
beds, and made of 6-inch boards 8 inches apart and bolted together 
with four sets of double cleats, so that 4 rows may be set across 
three beds at one placing of the board. You can then use the hoe, 
which is much cheaper than hand weeding, and pansies need fre- 
quent surface cultivation to be at their best. 
A good type of pansy plant for the market is one that is small 
and stocky, and able to produce its first bloom early in the season, 
and of good commercial size. 
A big flower on a small plant is a big winner in the market. A 
large plant with a small flower is worth little, if anything, at all. 
When you get an initial bloom with a spread equal to the 
diameter of the plant you have a market product worth while. 
A pansy bloom will increase in size, after it is fully opened and 
should have a chance to fully develop—say 24 to 48 hours, and 
should then go to market. If blooms are fresh and plants are 
carefully lifted in the early morning and roots moistened and with 
a small ball of earth rolled snugly in newspaper, the flower should 
last for at least three days. 
SHIPPING SEEDLINGS 
For the commercial grower of seedlings the successful shipping 
of same is second in importance to growing them, and pardon me, 
if from sad experience, I mention a few don’ts first. 
1. Don’t send out any plants with less than five leaves, not 
counting the two initial leaves. 1. Because they do not stand up ~ 
for a long-distance trip, and 2, even if they do arrive in fair con- 
dition, they will lack the ‘‘pep” of larger plants, and therefore, do 
not “‘grow on” to the satisfaction of the buyer. Yes, you can sell 
cheap attenuated seedlings, but you cannot build up a business by 
so doing. 
2. Don’t ship seedlings over 500 miles, until they are hardened 
off by a few chilly days and frosty nights. It means almost certain 
loss. 
3. Don’t bunch your plants in paper wrappings for distances 
over 200 miles. Ordinary paper used in that way gathers moisture 
—a fermentation starts—the plants heat and then rot. 
4. Don’t pack your plants in horizontal layers. 
5. Don’t crowd your plants by packing tightly. ‘‘No chance” 
when you do. 
6. Don’t allow any moisture on plants and little, if any, on 
roots. 
Plants, when lifted for shipping, should be cool, with no mois- 
ture on the tops. Even if roots are wet, they should be thinly 
spread in a dry, cool place, turning them over gently and shaking 
roots entirely free from dirt. When tops are dry and roots are tak- 
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