make certain it is free of verticillium 
wilt, and this cultured stock becomes 
the nucleus stock for disease-free plants. 
Small wonder that our cuttings are 
strong and healthy when you learn that 
all stock is sprayed with insecticide 
once a week. 
Under a pathology set-up in the 
Culturing Room, where sterile condi- 
tions are maintained, samples of all 
varieties are checked for the nature, 
cause, progress and result of disease. 
A section of the stem of all varieties is 
taken and put in sterile media. If the 
organism appears, the plant is infected. 
All new varieties are checked for sus- 
ceptibility by taking a single plant and 
innoculating it with the verticillium 
organism. Whether it is very suscep- 
tible or not is immediately apparent. 
- Production Steps 
In the Production Plant, the first step 
is preparation of thesoil. Theold plants 
are first removed. Then the soil—which 
is sand, with body, but no organic 
matter — is manured, Rototilled and 
steam sterilized. 
Every week during the shipping 
season (which has usually been January 
1 to July 31), cuttings are taken from 
stock plants and planted in squares, 
4" x 4", in the propagation benches. 
There they remain for about three weeks 
before being lifted out into baskets, 
then packed and shipped. Before any 
cuttings are placed in benches, how- 
ever, the entire area is cultivated and 
steam sterilized. In this process, the 
bench is shrouded in canvas-like blank- 
ets with iron uprights to keep the 
blankets from bogging down and creat- 
ing pockets. Every 100 feet along the 
steam pipe there are three steam outlets. 
The shipping box is a standard size. 
Each holds 500 cuttings, packed 25 in 
a cell, with wet sphagnum moss lining 
the bottom to keep the cuttings moist 
and fresh. 
A Packing List copy is sent to the 
customer 3 to 5 days before shipment 
to let him know exactly what he is 
getting and when. By getting as much 
as possible done in advance, once our 
growers decide to ship, a minimum of 
time is lost between taking the cuttings 
out of the benches and getting the 
correct labels, nursery certificate of in- 
spection and waybills on the shipping 
boxes. 
Orders are filed according to the re- 
quested shipping date and are given 
preference according to the date re- 
ceived. It, therefore, is advisable to 
order early. This helps the growers to 
Cuttings being planted in squares, 4"x4", in propagation benches. 

