FOREST CONDITIONS IN DELAWARE. 41 



dant reproduction to a distance of 50 to 100 feet ; from 100 to 300 feet 

 the reproduction is still fairly uniformly distributed, but rather open ; 

 beyond 300 feet it is very irregular and scattering. 



Germination and Seedling Development 



The seed germinates with great uniformity, and has as high a ger- 

 minating per cent, as any species of pine. Seed collected and preserved 

 under favorable conditions will retain the capacity for germination for 

 five to ten years; when disseminated naturally, however, they some- 

 times retain this capacity as long as four years, but usually not longer 

 than one. 



Germination is the starting of vital activity in the seed when it 

 commences to take up moisture and swell under the influence of suffi- 

 cient warmth. The encased radical enlarges, bursts through the seed- 

 covering, and sends down its primary root into the soil. After the de- 

 scending part has become firmly attached to the soil, by root hairs, or 

 lateral roots, the growth upward then commences, and with the de- 

 velopment of the cotyledons and plumule the seedling becomes com- 

 pletely formed. 



In spite of the high germinating poAver of loblolly seed, most of it 

 never germinates, because it falls on unfavorable situations, and many 

 young seedlings die because the conditions are adverse to their develop- 

 ment. 



The seed requires a certain degree of warmth and moisture for 

 germination, while for seedling development sufficient light and suit- 

 able soil conditions are necessary. These conditions constitute a fa- 

 vorable seedbed. A discussion of the relative suitability of different 

 natural situations as seedbeds for loblolly pine is important. Dense, 

 broken, and open situations will be dealt with separately. 



1. In dense forests the conditions may be favorable to germina- 

 tion, but the lack of light precludes seedling development, and any 

 seedling, which may have become established, will scarcely survive 

 more than a year or so. 



2. Under the canopy of a broken stand the reproduction is often 

 excellent. The moisture conditions are especially favorable to germi- 

 nation, and there is sufficient light for seedling growth. Reproduction 

 takes place on spots where the bare mineral soil is exposed, or where 

 the organic soil of entirely decomposed humus is near the surface. A 

 thick ground cover of undecomposed leaves or duff, however, makes re- 

 production almost impossible, for the tiny radicle is unable to pierce 



