Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 July 1895 — How to Mail Flowers. [ARTICLE]

How to Mail Flowers.

This is the season when one who lives among the flowers longs to send some of the frail treasures to friends who are cooped in city walls. But unless they are properly packed for mailing the final result is apt to be only a conglomeration of wet pasteboard, cotton, stems, leaves, and what have once been blossoms, all crushed into an indistinguishable mass over which the letter-carrier says hard things, and the receiver is inclined to weep. A tin box is best for packing if you have it, but a pasteboard box will do very well if it is strong and not too deep. The more shallow it is in proportion to its length and breadth, the firmer it will be. Line It with waxed paper, such as confectioners use. If the waxed paper is no,t at hand, common manilla paper well rubbed on one side with butter makes a good substitute. Lay the buttered side in, next the flowers, and protect them by a layer of grass or leaves. If the buttered side were put next to

the box, It would grease the pasteboard and soften it. Cut the flowers in the morning, before the sun has wilted them, but after the dew has dried off. The common mistake made in mailing flowers is to have them wet. Their own juice will preserve them during a long journey if the air is excluded, but water soaks through and ruins the whole package. The sooner they are put in the box after cutting the better. Put the larger and stronger ones at the bottom and around the sides, saving the middle for the fragile roses or violets. Pack them as tightly as possible. You can scarcely get them too close, for they will shake down after a little, and the jolting together bruises them. Fill up all corners and empty spaces with dry coiton or moss. Not a drop of water, remember. Lay a sheet of the waxed or buttered paper over the top, tie but don’t seal it, direct it legibly, and it will reach its destination with its fragrant contents as fresh as if just gathered.