Kraebel: Choosing the Best Tree Seeds 



485 



the Douglas Fir Seed Studv, was initiat- 

 ed in the fall of 1912 at the Wind River 

 Iixperiment v^tation near Carson, Wash- 

 ington. It will be continued for forty 

 years, or as much longer as it will yield 

 data of value. The data gathered dur- 

 ing the first few years are expected to 

 serve primarily as a guide in the collec- 

 tion of seed, and secondarily as an aid 

 in the selection of seed trees to be left 

 standing in timber-sale cuttings. Among 

 the immediate questions to be answered 

 are the following: 



1 . What class of tree produces the 

 best quality and quantity of seed — 

 young, middle-aged or old; healthy 

 or diseased ? 



2. What particular qualities of 

 seed are required to produce the 

 most desirable seedlings for arti- 

 ficial reforestation on various sites? 



3. What is the influence of lo- 

 cality of the parent tree upon the 

 progeny raised from that tree? 



It will be appreciated at once that 

 there are innumerable questions, subor- 

 dinate to these, which enter the problem 

 but which cannot be discussed in the 

 brief compass of this article. 



METHODS 



In the fall of 1912, cones were col- 

 lected from 127 different trees in ten dif- 

 ferent localities on the west slope of the 

 Cascade Mountains from northern Wash- 

 ington to midwestern Oregon. The 

 classes of trees from which cones were 

 gathered are as follows : 



eter of 33-2 inches to 63/2 feet. The 

 trees were carefully chosen for the de- 

 sired qualities, and for each condition 

 several trees were used in order to 

 minimize the likelihood of disturbance 

 through the possible erratic qualities of 

 some individual tree. By this means a 

 group of four to ten trees, rather than a 

 single tree, became the unit of the study. 

 The cones were taken from all parts of 

 the crown of each tree and the propor- 

 tion of those taken to the total yield of 

 the tree was carefully noted. For each 

 tree a detailed description was made by 

 the collector, including such points as 

 size, age, trc,e class (whether dominant 

 or suppressed in the stand) character of 

 crown, condition of health, etc., besides 

 the important features of the site in 

 which the tree grew. A sketch of the 

 tree was also made to show the shape and 

 proportions of the crown and the loca- 

 tion of cones upon it. The trees were 

 not marked for future examination, 

 since, in the case of the older trees, the 

 cones were gathered after the trees had 

 been felled in the process of logging. 



As the cones were received at the Ex- 

 periment vStation each lot wa? given a 

 number, and all infomiation concerning 

 the seed or seedling resulting from that 

 lot of cones has thenceforward been 

 recorded under th:s number. By this 

 means the chance of personal prejudice 

 toward one conclusion or another in 

 making observations is eliminated, for 

 the observer knows nothing of the source 

 of the stock he is examining. From the 



1. (a) Very young (14-30 years) ] 



{b) 75-100 years old [Open-grown trees at 



(c) 100-200 years old f low altitudes. 



{d) Old (over 300 years) J 



2. (a) Second growth (60, 65 and 100 yearsj\ Dense-grown trees at 

 lb) Old growth (220 and 600 years) / low altitudes. 



3. (a) SecondgrowthW j^ j^^i^.^^^^^ 

 (o) Old gro\^'th J '^ 



4. (a) Young (40 years)! Trees from [Effect of poor 

 (6) Old (150 years) / Steilicoom Plains] soil. 



^* (?) SounT^}'^^^^^ °^ middle age (275-400 years). 



The altitudes of the sites varied from 

 100 to 3,850 feet above sea-level. The 

 trees ranged in age from fourteen years 

 to 600 years, and, in size, from a diam- 



time of their arrival at the Experiment 

 Station, the cones and seeds, and the 

 seedlings raised from them, have had 

 identical treatment. In a number of 



