36 FORESTRY BRANCH BULLETIN NO. 33 



Cones containing germinable seeds were observed to be first borne by pine trees 

 at nine years, and at any age up to twenty-five years. The best production of cones 

 is between thirty and sixty years and continues as long as the tree has a vigorous, 

 well developed crown, but falls off in dense stands when the crowns become narrowed 

 in, and the height-growth falls off. The number of cones produced each year is not 

 excessive, although production in moderate amounts takes place nearly every year. 

 The noticeably large numbers of cones on the trees do not indicate an extraordin- 

 arily heavy annual production, but are the result of the persistence of the cones. 

 The cones have short thick stems firmly imbedded in the wood of the branches, and, 

 when cones do fall, it is usually after the stem has been torn from the wood, and not 

 from a breakage of the stem near the cone. The cones will thus remain on the tree 

 for an indefinite period, certainly, in extreme cases, as long as fifty years. 



Nearly all the cones contain a considerable number of seeds, but the average 

 is only one sixth to one quarter the total number of scales. The sterile scales 

 are mostly at the base, with a smaller number at the apex also without seeds. The 

 cones have thick woody scales with enlarged apices which fit accurately together 

 when the cone is closed and form a water-tight surface. The heavy scales are, in 

 general, slow to separate. Those at the apex separate first, while those at the base 

 practically .never separate, but they also seldom bear seeds. The shedding of seed 

 is variable, since it is dependent upon the opening of the cones, which is influenced 

 by several factors. The average amount of seed shed naturally is only imperfectly 

 known. It is generally agreed, however, that enough cones open every year to furnish 

 a satisfactory supply of seed, although the annual distribution is not as great as 

 with spruce. The opening of the cones is not confined to the period immediately after 

 ripening, but may occur at a later period or be repeated at various times. The seeds 

 are heavier than spruce seeds and are carried only about 150 feet by the wind, and 

 effective seeding extends only about 100 feet. The fall of cones to the ground sup- 

 plements the direct shedding of seeds, and the transportation by squirrels, &c., of the 

 fallen cones and of cones that they have cut off is a minor agent of distribution. 



A factor opposite in character and almost equal in importance to distribution is 

 the storing of seeds. Many cones do not open at all, and most do not open suffi- 

 ciently to allow the escape of all the seeds, so that on every tree there is a consider- 

 able store of seeds. Most of these are eventually wasted by the cones rotting on 

 the ground with seeds still in them, either after falling from the tree during its 

 latter years, or being brought to the ground by the wind-fall of the tree. The 

 remarkable persistency of germinative power in the seeds is important since the 

 seeds seldom lose their germinative capacity during the period that they are held 

 in the cones on the trees. Seeds from cones, in one case 45 years old, and, in another, 

 75 years, have been known to germinate. 



Development of the Seedling. The cotyledons are variable in number and are 

 followed by a cluster of whorled leaves. Later in the first year leaves appear which 

 have the normal arrangement in bundles of two. The seedling is about 1 in. high 

 at the end of the first year. At five years it has reached a height of 18 in. and is 

 over 3 feet high at ten years. No opportunity was afforded, on account of the wet 

 season, to determine how much moisture was necessary for germination, although 

 it was evident that the presence of considerable moisture was favourable. The 

 uniform distribution of seedlings on tracts seeded up in previous years, where large 

 areas of mineral soil had been exposed, argues that sufficient moisture to allow the 

 germination of most seeds is seldom lacking. 



The vast majority of pine seeds actually germinate on bare soil, although they 

 will also start on a firm, compact ground-cover of humus, moss, or thin litter, not 

 exceeding one inch in thickness. 



In virgin stands, good reproduction of pine is seldom found. The reason is that, 

 even where openings have been formed that admit enough light for the germination 

 and development of seedlings, yet there has been lacking any influence which would 



