GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 75 



from which they are grown; e. g., seedlings of Red Cedar grown 

 in Missouri from seeds of native Minnesota trees would be safer 

 to plant here than seedlings raised in Minnesota from the seeds 

 of native Missouri trees. 



Seedling Variations. In our common trees variations are 

 not sufficiently marked but that we think of the trees as coming 

 true from seeds, and yet careful observation will show to any 

 one that each seedling plant is different from neighboring plants 

 of the same species. Sometimes a seedling will occur that pos- 

 sesses especially pleasing or curious characteristics that are very 

 marked and desirable. In such cases the seedling is generally 

 propagated by some method of bud-division and makes a new 

 variety. In this way have originated such highly-esteemed kinds 

 as Wier's Cut-leaf Maple, which was a chance seedling of the 

 Soft Maple, the Weeping American Elm, Cut-leaf Birch, Weep- 

 ing Mountain Ash, Pyramidal Arborvitas, and a host of other 

 kinds that are propagated by bud-division by nurserymen. The 

 person who is on the lookout for these or other variations will 

 have no trouble in finding many that may perhaps be worth 

 naming and propagating. 



Gathering Seeds. All kinds of seeds should be gathered 

 when ripe. In some cases it is best to pick them from the trees- 

 even before they are quite ripe, after which they will ripen if 

 kept dry. Unripe seeds do not keep as well as perfectly ripe 

 seeds. Most kinds of tree seeds are most cheaply gathered from 

 the ground. In some cases this method can be greatly facili- 

 tated by cleaning up the land under the trees so it will be smooth 

 and even. Seeds of some species can often be swept up at little 

 expense from under trees growing along the highway. 



Germination of Seeds. There are many conditions which 

 affect the germination of seeds: 



(i) Seeds which are thoroughly ripened before they are 

 gathered produce the best plants. Very immature seeds will 

 very often grow, but the tendency with them is to produce weak 

 plants. (2) Freshly gathered seeds, as a rule, are preferable to 

 old' seeds for sowing, and seeds that have never been allowed to 

 become very dry are more likely to grow than those which have 

 been severely dried. This is especially true of most of the kinds 

 of seeds that ripen in early summer, the most of which lose their 



