HOW PINE TREES ARE GROWN. 73 



conditions of the weather, the warmer and brighter the weather 

 the quicker they will open. Some cones, however, will not open 

 readily under the influence of the sun; these we opened by ar- 

 tificial heat. A close room is secured, a stove is set up as near 

 the middle as convenient and a series of shelves or trays with 

 four inch sides, are built up around it. The trays have wire 

 screen bottoms so as to admit a free circulation of heat and air. 

 To catch and hold the seeds a canvas or muslin apron is hung be- 

 neath the wire bottoms. The cones are spread about two layers 

 deep in the trays and the room is heated to as high a temjDarature 

 as we dare for the safety of the cones and building. In some 

 instances I have had a temperature of 200 degrees in a drying 

 room. 



The length of time required to open cones in a drying room 

 varies with the species from four to six hours to as many days. 

 "When the cones have opened, i. e. when the scales have expanded 

 sufficiently to allow the seeds to drop out, they are stirred around 

 "with a garden rake or a stick in such a way as to loosen or 

 dislodge as many of the seeds as possible. 



The number of seeds borne by a cone varies from 10 or 12 to 

 60 or 80 according to the species. In weight a bushel of cones 

 wiU yfeld from /i to 2/4 pounds of seed. Each seed is possessed 

 of a very thin membranous wing that aids in distribution, the 

 wind often carrying them several rods from the parent tree. 

 To rid the seeds of the wings we usually put a peck or so in a 

 sack and beat them over a stump or smooth stone and then run 

 them through a fanning mill. The cost of collecting seeds de- 

 pends upon several features, the abundance of the seed, the diffi- 

 culty or ease of collecting cones, and the distance that they have 

 to be transported. We have collected seed for 25 cents a pound 

 while other seed has cost us as much as $8.00 jper pound. 



THE SEEDBEDS. 



Upon the preparation of the seedbeds depends very largely 

 the success of the planting. The beds must be in a perfect state 

 of cultivation, and prepared as finely as you would prepare a 

 hed for onion seed. The soil should be a sandy loam containing 

 considerable organic matter. A porous soil with good drainage 



