8 REFORESTATION IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



insects and disease are arguments in its favor. Experimental 

 plantations made by this department several years ago demon- 

 strate that the balsam fir, like the Norway and red spruce, 

 will hold out under a considerable amount of shade, and re- 

 sume normal growth when released. 



THE FOREST NURSERY. 



The forest nursery represents the first step in the work of 

 land reclamation. Seed-plots were at one time a favorite ex- 

 periment among farmers and landowners, and plantations are 

 in existence that were started in this way. But nature is 

 prodigal in her waste of seed, and it was early discovered that 

 by gathering and planting this waste seed in beds a high 

 percentage could be germinated and brought to an age adapt- 

 able to low-cost reforestation. A three-year or four-year trans- 

 plant may be used in grass or brush land where seed would 

 not have one chance in a thousand. 



Procuring the Seed. 



The cone-bearing trees differ from the hardwoods in the 

 matter of bearing seed, usually devoting a few years to prepa- 

 ration for a large crop. Our native white pine produces an 

 abundant crop every five to seven years, and bears its seed 

 in cones or burrs, which generally grow in clusters of twos or 

 threes on the upper branches of the tree. There are two 

 seeds at the base of each scale of the cone. 



All coniferous seed should be gathered from the trees before 

 the cone-scales have opened. The cones should be spread out 

 on a smooth floor in the sun, raked over from time to time, 

 and finally flayed until the seed has been completely threshed 

 out. This should then be cleaned by winnowing, and kept in 

 bags in a cool dry place, out of the reach of birds and mice. 

 If properly stored the seed in most cases retains its vitality for 

 a number of years. 



