THE DOUGLAS FIR AS A COMMERCIAL TIMBER-TREE. 39 



shows itself somewhat precociously in our climate, is frequently 

 nipped by late frosts, otherwise every second or third year might 

 be depended upon for a supply. Like the larch, there is a red 

 and a white flowered variety, but whether there is an accompany- 

 ing variation in the quality of the timber, I have not been able to 

 ascertain. The white variety may be distinguished by the 

 lighter colour of its leaves and its more spreading habit. As a 

 timber-tree it is inferior to the red variety, but it is also less 

 common. The cones ripen in the beginning of October, and 

 they should then be collected without delay, as in presence of 

 drying winds the scales open and the seed is shed. After storage 

 in a dry loft during the winter, the cones, if the quantity is not 

 too large, may be exposed to sun-heat, and the seeds extracted in 

 that way. In the beginning of May the seeds should be sown 

 out in well-prepared beds 3 or 3I feet in width, i lb. of seed 

 being allowed to every 8 or 10 lineal yards. Much depends, 

 however, on the quality of ihe seed, and in purchasing, a 

 guarantee as to the germinative capacity and the source from 

 which it has originated should be demanded. It has been the 

 practice of some seed firms in the eastern States of America to 

 supply seeds of the Colorado variety when the other had not 

 been specially mentioned, and this, not from dishonest motives, 

 but because the glaucous variety is in those parts regarded as of 

 the two much the hardier and more reliable tree. Where the col- 

 lection of the seed is under control, much may be accomplished 

 in the improvement of the type of the tree commercially. The 

 tendency to sport as regards shape of bole, branch formation, 

 and shade of colour, is a specially noticeable feature of the tree. 

 Two trees may be seen growing closely together in the planta- 

 tion, the one possessed of a mast-like stem and practically devoid 

 of branches, while the other, whose branches may shoot out at 

 an upward angle, is still clothed to the ground, and as a timber- 

 tree presents a most forbidding appearance. Obviously the 

 seeds of such trees as the latter type should not be collected, but 

 may be left as fit food for the squirrels, which are specially fond 

 of them. That seedlings inherit to a certain extent the charac- 

 teristics of the parent is an admitted fact, and, as a result of this 

 knowledge, no one would willingly select trees with a badly 

 developed stem, or which possessed other undesirable features, 

 as the standard or mother-tree for natural reproduction. If this 

 careful selection, then, is necessary in the one case it is no less 



