HUSKING LARCH CONES. 683 



damping being merely auxiliary to the threshing, clean seed 

 with good germinative power is obtained. 



Once the wings have been severed from the seed, they must 

 be removed in order to obtain clean seed. This is effected 

 either by swinging the seed on a wooden tray, or tossing it 

 with a wooden winnowing-shovel, which removes both the 

 wings and light worthless seeds. As a rule, however, the 

 seeds are placed in a modern corn-sifter, provided with several 

 graduated fine wire-sieves. This separates all impurities 

 and the worthless seeds completely from the good seed, the 

 workman being careful to turn the machine slowly. Special 

 cleaning machines worked by motor-power are the bast. 



5. Si'jHtrution <>>' /S'm/s j'rtnn Lurch Cones. 



The method described in 2, refers only to Scots pine and 

 spruce ; it is not applicable to larch cones, which cannot be 

 completely freed of seed by artificial heat without damaging 

 its germinative power. Only the upper part of larch cones 

 opens when subjected to heat, the base of the cones, which con- 

 tains most of the seeds, remaining closed. Larch cones must 

 therefore be torn open in machines, clean seed being obtained 

 only after much troublesome manipulation. 



Much larch seed is exported regularly from the Tyrol. In 

 order to remove the seed, little water- wheels are suspended in 

 the rapid torrents, on the axles of which are rapidly rotating 

 tin cylinders. The cones enclosed in these cylinders are 

 rubbed violently against one another, and the seed set free. 

 In order to remove the last seeds from the cones, the latter 

 are pounded. One of the best stores for Tyrolese larch seed 

 is that of Jennewein, at Innsbruck. 



[In French Savoy and Dauphiny, larch seed is collected by 

 peasants between December and February ; during the preva- 

 lence of the comparatively warm south wind, the cones drop 

 their seeds on to cloths spread under the trees on the snow. 

 This seed is said to germinate much better than that purchased 

 from seed-establishments. Boppe.] 



The apparatus employed by Appel, at Darmstadt, which 

 resembles that used by the Tyrolese, consists of wooden 



