444 Forestry Quarterly. 



problems to work out yet, and I think the most important one is 

 the effect of moisture on the opening of the cones. To overcome 

 that we installed a blower which was intended to force the hot air 

 through the furnace into the drying room, and it was so arranged 

 that we could draw the moist air out of the drying room. Our 

 blower was a little too small, and we have never successfully 

 worked it yet, but I am satisfied that in any modern cone extrac- 

 tion plant we have got to arrange some contrivance so that we 

 can get rid of the moist air in the room. My intention now is to 

 run pipes along the roof of the room, where the steam and moist 

 air is, letting them run through the floor to a blower and draw 

 all the air out of the top of the room, which would take out the 

 moisture, and I believe I can reduce the length of time required 

 to open the cones almost one-half." 



The question was asked whether a threshing machine could be 

 used for extracting seed from cones, and Mr. Imes, who had tried 

 it, said it was not practicable ; too many of the seed were broken, 

 and the results were in every way unsatisfactory. Referring to 

 the amount of clean seed obtained on the Black Hills (N") last 

 season, he said that about 27,000 pounds of Western Yellow 

 Pine was obtained. 



Supervisor Pierce discussed Methods and Seasons for Planting. 

 He gave the history of the Halsey Nursery. Experiments proved 

 that commercial fertilizers for seed beds were of little value, but 

 animal manures should be used. The seed is sown in the spring 

 at a rate unit to produce 100 seedlings per square foot. Great 

 loss resulting from damping-off, fungi and blight. Blight could 

 be lessened first, by increased use of water, second, by preventing 

 too rapid evaporation and withdrawal of moisture from the 

 ground, by cultivation of the soil, by shading, by increasing the 

 spacing of the trees ; third, by preventing too rapid transpiration, 

 obtained through shading and by spraying; fourth, by increasing 

 the fertility of the soil ; fifth, by increasing the vigor of the trees, 

 by using seed of high germinative ability, and thin stands from 

 75 to 100 per square foot; sixth, by the transplanting of thrifty 

 seedlings. The transplant stock gave better results than seed- 

 lings planted in their permanent site. Supervisor d'Allemand 

 had better success upon the Kansas Forest with conifers than he 

 did with hardwoods. Yellow pine seedlings were less liable to 

 damping-off. Mr. Riley stated that in New York Pettis had 



