_Transporting Cuttings to Distant Parts._--When cuttings are to be shipped any distance, they must be packed. The simplest method of packing for short distances is to fill the bottom of a sack with wet straw, and then slip the bundle of cuttings down in the sack, and a single string will then suffice to secure the sack to the bundle. Packed this way, cuttings can stand a voyage of a week or more if the weather is not too hot. If a longer voyage, of say several weeks’ duration, is necessary, the cuttings should be packed in dry-goods boxes, and, if the time of transit is not too long, no other packing is needed. If, however, a very long transit is in view, more precautions for the safe arrival of the cuttings are required. After the bundles have been pressed down in the box, moist and fresh moss is packed tightly down all along the sides of the box. Such packing will keep the cuttings fresh for over a month. For a longer time, coarse, pulverized charcoal filled in between the cuttings is a splendid packing. The charcoal must be dry, the moisture in the cuttings being enough to keep them alive for several months. Packed first in tin boxes surrounded by charcoal, and then the boxes soldered tightly, so as to allow no air to enter, is the safest method for transporting cuttings long distances. If there is a possibility to repack at certain stations on the road, wooden boxes may be used instead of tin. The waxing of the ends of the cuttings will help to keep them moist. All lumber boxes should be lined with waxed paper, and all cracks carefully nailed up, as by the drying of the boards the contents are very liable to run out. Large and heavy boxes should be surrounded by iron bands. _Rooting Cuttings._--There are two ways of planting cuttings in the nursery in order to have them rooted for next season’s planting. One way is to plant in nursery rows four feet apart; the other is to set in beds. For such nursery, a plat of land with rich soil and with good water facilities should be selected. Water should never fail in the nursery, as cuttings always require more water than old plants set farther apart. The rows should be staked out four feet from each other. Six or eight inch cuttings should be used, according to the depth to moisture; the more moisture, the shorter need be the cuttings. With a big, flat hoe the soil along the line of the row is thrown up on one side, the cuttings are set down upright close to the perpendicular side, and the soil is again raked back with the same kind of hoe, and then tamped hard around the cuttings. The latter need not be over two or three inches apart, and from forty to fifty thousand may be set on one acre of ground. In no instance should the cutting be left more than one or two inches above the surface of the ground. The best instrument or tool for opening the soil and for covering the cuttings is the large flat-faced Italian hoe, used by Italian workmen both in Europe and in this country.