FOREST TREE SEED AND SEED COLLECTING 91 



2. SOURCES FROM WHICH SEED MAY BE OBTAINED 



Seed for use in direct seeding and nursery practice may be 

 obtained: 



a. From responsible seed dealers. 



6. Direct from seed collectors. 



c. Through personal collection or supervision. 



Because of the relatively high cost of forest tree seed in this 

 country and the more or less uncertainty of obtaining it from a 

 collector or dealer, it is often advantageous for the user to collect 

 the seed direct or to arrange for its collection under supervision. 

 This is particularly true if the seed is used in large quantity and 

 the crop can be harvested in the immediate locality. When a 

 large quantity of seed from a more or less remote region is re- 

 quired, it is usually less expensive to procure it direct from a 

 seed collector, arranging with him some months in advance of 

 the maturity of the crop. 



3. Ordering Tree Seed from Collector or Dealer 



When forest tree seed is ordered from a dealer, or even direct 

 from a collector, it is very important as yet in this country to place 

 the order early, even some weeks before the maturity of the crop. 

 If the order is placed late, i,e., some months after the crop has 

 been gathered, not only is the cost much higher but the certainty 

 of securing the seed is very much diminished because collectors, 

 as a rule, gather only sufficient seed to fill their orders at the time 

 of collecting. As most forest tree seed cannot safely be kept over 

 until the second year without special methods of storage, the seed 

 collected in excess is often a total loss. 



4. THE QUALITY OF FOREST SEED 



Whatever the source from which forest tree seed is obtained, 

 careful attention should be given to its quality. This is of even 

 greater importance than it is with agricultural seed, because it 

 deteriorates more rapidly with age and has greater variation in 

 weight, size, and other characteristics which determine quality. 

 Although the quality of seed is determined by many factors, the 

 following are of particular importance: 



a. The origin. 



6. The size and weight. 



c. The degree of ripeness and age. 



