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  in 
  a 
  dark 
  room, 
  and 
  keep 
  them 
  an^-^-here 
  from 
  one 
  to 
  six 
  weeks 
  

   dormant. 
  When 
  you 
  want 
  to 
  use 
  them, 
  and 
  your 
  trees 
  of 
  the 
  

   pistillate 
  flowers 
  are 
  ready, 
  take 
  the 
  branches 
  of 
  staminate 
  flowers 
  

   out 
  of 
  the 
  ice 
  house 
  and 
  put 
  them 
  in 
  jars 
  of 
  water 
  in 
  a 
  warm 
  room 
  

   in 
  the 
  sunshine. 
  They 
  will 
  blossom 
  and 
  make 
  good 
  pollen 
  shortly. 
  

   Another 
  way 
  is 
  through 
  correspondents 
  li\'ing 
  at 
  a 
  distance. 
  These 
  

   correspondents 
  vrWl 
  send 
  you 
  pollen 
  from 
  a 
  species 
  which 
  blossoms 
  

   later 
  further 
  north 
  or 
  earlier 
  further 
  south, 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  which 
  you 
  

   wish 
  for 
  your 
  pistillate 
  flowers. 
  For 
  instance, 
  in 
  crossing 
  chinka- 
  

   pins 
  with 
  oaks, 
  the 
  chinkapins 
  will 
  blossom 
  about 
  the 
  12th 
  of 
  June 
  

   in 
  Connecticut 
  but 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  oaks 
  are 
  through 
  blossoming 
  by 
  the 
  

   12th 
  of 
  May. 
  There 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  month's 
  difference. 
  How 
  can 
  I 
  use 
  

   oak 
  pollen 
  upon 
  my 
  chinkapin 
  trees? 
  I 
  do 
  this 
  bysending 
  awaj' 
  up 
  

   to 
  the 
  northern 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  groT\*th 
  of 
  the 
  oak 
  tree, 
  up 
  in 
  Canada. 
  

   The 
  red 
  oak 
  tree 
  blossoms 
  there 
  in 
  June, 
  the 
  same 
  species 
  that 
  

   blossoms 
  with 
  me 
  early 
  in 
  ]\Iay. 
  Pecan 
  pollen 
  that 
  I 
  wish 
  to 
  use 
  

   upon 
  shagbarks 
  and 
  walnuts 
  I 
  get 
  from 
  Texas. 
  Now 
  how 
  are 
  we 
  

   to 
  keep 
  pollen 
  when 
  we 
  have 
  collected 
  it, 
  if 
  we 
  are 
  not 
  ready 
  to 
  use 
  

   it 
  immediately? 
  I 
  have 
  had 
  pollen 
  sent 
  to 
  me 
  from 
  a 
  distance 
  in 
  

   tighth" 
  corked 
  bottles. 
  It 
  was 
  probabh* 
  ruined 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  three 
  

   or 
  four 
  days, 
  because 
  it 
  could 
  not 
  breathe. 
  Every 
  grain 
  of 
  pollen 
  

   has 
  to 
  breathe 
  just 
  as 
  surely 
  as 
  a 
  red 
  squirrel 
  in 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  a 
  tree 
  

   has 
  to 
  breathe. 
  The 
  pollen 
  grain 
  is 
  a 
  living 
  organism, 
  and 
  if 
  it 
  is 
  

   sent 
  in 
  a 
  closely 
  corked 
  bottle 
  it 
  smothers 
  and 
  dies. 
  You 
  must 
  

   have 
  it 
  sent 
  in 
  paper 
  or 
  wooden 
  boxes 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  have 
  it 
  in 
  good 
  

   condition 
  when 
  it 
  arrives, 
  and 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  kept 
  in 
  a 
  cool 
  place, 
  not 
  

   too 
  dry 
  and 
  not 
  too 
  damp. 
  If 
  it 
  is 
  kept 
  in 
  a 
  place 
  that 
  is 
  too 
  damp, 
  

   various 
  fungi 
  appear, 
  and 
  begin 
  to 
  attack 
  it 
  at 
  once. 
  If 
  it 
  is 
  too 
  

   dry, 
  it 
  loses 
  its 
  water 
  content, 
  and 
  its 
  protoplasm 
  does 
  not 
  make 
  

   combination 
  with 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  flower. 
  So 
  we 
  must 
  keep 
  our 
  

   pollen 
  in 
  a 
  cool 
  place, 
  not 
  too 
  dry, 
  not 
  too 
  warm 
  and 
  not 
  too 
  moist, 
  

   and 
  where 
  it 
  can 
  breathe. 
  "We 
  may 
  put 
  it 
  in 
  cold 
  storage 
  but 
  not 
  at 
  

   a 
  temperature 
  below 
  freezing. 
  We 
  may 
  put 
  it 
  into 
  the 
  cold 
  storage 
  

   which 
  florists 
  use, 
  and 
  keep 
  it 
  for 
  a 
  long 
  while. 
  Some 
  pollen 
  will 
  

   keep 
  \-iable 
  for 
  three 
  weeks, 
  under 
  these 
  conditions, 
  possiblj^ 
  

   longer. 
  It 
  is 
  important 
  to 
  keep 
  your 
  pollen 
  boxes 
  open 
  at 
  the 
  top. 
  

   They 
  must 
  be 
  kept 
  where 
  the 
  wind 
  doesn't 
  blow 
  your 
  pollen 
  from 
  

   one 
  box 
  to 
  another. 
  I 
  had 
  not 
  been 
  impressed 
  by 
  that 
  point 
  until 
  

   this 
  year. 
  I 
  had 
  eight 
  different 
  kinds 
  of 
  pollen 
  about 
  the 
  farm 
  

   house, 
  in 
  different 
  rooms, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  be 
  sure 
  to 
  keep 
  them 
  far 
  apart. 
  

   One 
  day 
  on 
  my 
  arrival 
  from 
  town 
  ready 
  for 
  pollenating 
  a 
  number 
  

   of 
  trees, 
  I 
  foimd 
  that 
  a 
  very 
  neat 
  housekeeper 
  had 
  found 
  it 
  undesir- 
  

  

  