88 LOUIS S. MURPHY 



that 1910 was also a full seed year for spruce in the northern 

 New Hampshire and adjoining Maine regions and weather con- 

 ditions favored early maturity and dispersal of the seed. 



During the latter half of September an examination of the for- 

 est floor under the normal cover of even-aged spruce stands re- 

 vealed a large quantity of germinated spruce seed which must 

 have been from the recently ripened seed crop, since only the 

 seed leaves were developed, and in many cases even the seed- 

 coat still enveloped the tips of the embryonic leaves. These 

 spruce germinates were so thick in places as to make it impos- 

 sible to place a finger on the ground without crushing several. 

 Balsam fir seedlings were also found with them, but these were 

 remotely scattered as single individuals and were almost without 

 exception spring germinates with well developed stems and 

 permanent leaves. One and two year old balsam seedlings were 

 also present. Spruce of this age was entirely lacking and seed- 

 lings of the previous spring's germination were also only spar- 

 ingly represented. 



Balsam seed trees were not very numerous, so that this condi- 

 tion did not of itself indicate much with relation to the behavior 

 of that species ; but subsequently a stand of almost pure balsam 

 within a short distance of the spruce plot just mentioned was 

 examined. Here, although the site was not quite the same, the 

 density of the cover was very similar, and in places conditions 

 were more favorable to germination and early growth than in the 

 spruce stand. A close examination of the humus and light moss 

 cover failed to disclose more than a scattering of balsam fall ger- 

 minates, although the presence of new sound seeds in considerable 

 quantity was observed. Balsam seedlings from spring germi- 

 nates were plentiful, occurring as individuals, while one and two 

 year old seedlings were also numerous. 



In contrast to this condition spruce in the young growth of 

 open pastures was observed to be much more prevalent than 

 balsam. In explanation of this apparent reversal of the repro- 

 ductive capacities of the two species it seems entirely probable 

 that in the fall soil moisture and general climatic conditions 

 are, in the open, much less favorable to germination of spruce 



