FOREST TREE SEED. 



'45 



lowered its vitality, and although it throws most of its energy 

 into the production of seed, yet its offspring have a less chance 

 of being strong and vigorous than have the offspring of a tree in 

 the prime of life. In Britain at present there are considerable 

 numbers of comparatively young exotic trees bearing seed. If 

 mature specimens of any species are scarce or non-existent, 

 patience should, I think, be exercised until seed from trees 

 approaching the prime of life can be obtained. At anyrate, 

 judgment on the merits or demerits of home-grown seed, as 

 compared with foreign seed collected from mature trees, should 

 be reserved till seed from mature home-grown trees can be 

 obtained. I feel I cannot conclude these brief remarks regard- 

 ing point 4 without mentioning that I have just read in the 

 press that "an interim Forest Authority, which has been created 

 a short time ago, under the chairmanship of Mr Francis D. 

 Acland, is busy investigating the best sorts of seeds with which 

 to make good the heavy war fellings." It is to be hoped 

 that investigation will be followed out on scientific lines, and 

 although size, weight, and germinative power must each receive 

 their due attention, and although the standard of cleanness 

 must not be lowered, the origin of the seed should in every case 

 be most particularly enquired into. Every effort should be 

 made to prevent the indiscriminate dumping down in Britain 

 of foreign seed the origin of which is unknown, or which has 

 been collected in a region which experience and science have 

 shown produces unsuitable seed in so far as the British Islands 

 are concerned. 



Although nursery work does not come within the scope of 

 this paper, yet a few words on seedlings may not be out of 

 place, as there is a close relationship between the seed and the 

 seedling. None but the best class of seedlings should be 

 purchased for lining out, and when seedlings from home 

 nurseries are being lined out, none but good quality plants 

 should be used. The undersized and the weaklings are, as a 

 rule, unsatisfactory and unprofitable, and are not worth a place 

 in nursery lines, even in cases where germination and uniform 

 development have been difficult. Small or weakly plants may 

 have within them inherited qualities which will render them un- 

 satisfactory, no matter how well they may be tended or how 

 much money may be spent in rearing them. It is a decidedly 

 bad policy to use undersized or weakly seedlings. The follow- 



