620 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



Table 2. — Average Weight of Firsts in Grains 



It would thus seem that in the case of spring sowing shallow cover- 

 ing (34 inch to ^ inch) is advisable because of higher germination 

 the first year; greater total number of plans per foot produced in seed 

 beds ; greater number of firsts per foot produced ; larger size and better 

 development of firsts. 



The striking differences in behavior from spring sowing do not 

 occur in the case of fall-sown seed. In the case of fall sowing, covering 

 to 34 inch, y2 inch, and ^ inch gave practically the same number of 

 firsts per foot; sowing to }i inch, ^ inch, and 1 inch gave stock of the 

 same total length, but that from the deepest sown seed had too heavy 

 a top for the roots. Sowing to ^ inch gave somewhat the largest 

 stock; using weight as an index of stockiness, the seedlings from ^- 

 inch sowing are the best, from 1-inch next, and from 34-inch and 3^- 

 inch last ; sowing to 1 inch is not recommended because of the smaller 

 number of first produced and the poorly balanced stock produced ; 

 sowing to }i inch, 3^2 inch and ■)4 inch give about equally good results, 

 with the last two possibly a trifle better than 34 inch. 



Western Yellow Pine 



Briefly, the important points are these : The shallower the sowing 

 the sooner germination started ; the deeper the sowing the more com- 

 plete was germination ; the deeper the sowing the more rapid was 

 germination after it once really started; the largest proportion of de- 

 layed germination occurred in the 34 -inch and 3/^-inch sowing. 



Germination data alone do not tell the whole story, since such 

 figures must be interpreted in terms of the quantity and quality of 

 stock produced. In other words, the real index of the value of the 

 different depths of sowing is the amount, both relative and absolute, 

 of first-class stock produced under the different conditions. 



Table 3 summarizes the essential data regarding quality and quantity 

 of stock: 



