152 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



dows reaching to the ceiling and ventilators in the roof, a free 

 circulation of air is maintained. From 2 to 5 weeks is usually 

 required for curing the cones. Many of the seeds rattle out 

 and fall to the floor, which should be smooth and tight in order 

 to prevent loss. It is often necessary to protect the windows 

 and ventilators with wire screens in order to prevent birds, 

 squirrels and other rodents from carrying off the seed. When 

 the curing room is sufficiently large to hold an entire crop, a 

 small kiln will suffice as it can be kept in continual operation for 

 several months after the cones begin to cure. Instead of curing 

 the cones on trays arranged in a specially designed building, they 

 are sometimes stored in narrow bins through which the wind has 

 a free sweep as in the modern corn crib. 



Wiebecke l emphasizes the great importance of convenient and 

 well-made storage and curing sheds which permit a free circu- 

 lation of air and in which the cones can be protected during 

 inclement weather. Three months of storage under the best con- 

 ditions will ordinarily result in a loss in weight of from 10 to 50 

 per cent due to decrease in moisture. The cones of white pine 

 open a short time after maturity and must be collected while the 

 cone scales are still succulent and green. They require a maxi- 

 mum of space in the curing shed. On the other hand, the cones 

 of jack pine and lodgepole pine do not open for months after 

 maturity. They cure on the tree and can be closely packed in 

 storage without harm to the contained seed. 



16. Preliminary Drying Room. In the handling of Scotch 

 pine cones, which are quite similar to those of our red pine and 

 some of our southern hard piries, Wiebecke recommends that a pre- 

 liminary drying room be used, into which the cones are moved from 

 the curing shed for a time before placing them in the kiln. The 

 hot air after passing through the kiln is conducted to this room, 

 which is maintained at a temperature of from 77 to 95 F. With- 

 out a preliminary drying room the heat from the kiln passes into 

 the open air and is lost. The cones are taken from the curing or 

 storage shed as needed and transferred to the preliminary drying 

 room for a period of from 10 to 15 days. During this period the 

 moisture content is reduced to the point of partial opening of the 



1 Wiebecke, Forstmeister : Die Anwendung neuen Erkennens und Konnens 

 auf die Kiefernsamendarre. (Zeitschrift f. Forst- u. Jagdwesen, S. 342-360. 

 1910.) 



