FOREST TREE SEED AND SEED COLLECTING 171 



It is recommended that the cellar be constructed near the extrac- 

 tion house, with double insulated walls and double doors, and that 

 the roof be covered with earth and straw. 



At the seed establishment at Annaburg 1 the seed is stored in 

 glass carboys packed in willow baskets padded with straw. These 

 are stored in a dark, dry cellar at a temperature of 44^- F. The 

 more uniform the temperature and the nearer it can be kept to 

 freezing the better the seed keeps. 



The U. S. Forest Service and many commercial dealers store 

 coniferous seed in sealed tin cans in which they are held over 

 until the second or third year. 



Investigations, now in progress by the U. S. Forest Service, on 

 the keeping qualities of the seed of six indigenous conifers stored 

 in various receptacles at thirteen stations having very divergent 

 conditions of temperature and atmospheric humidity, show the 

 superiority of sealed receptacles over other containers even at 

 the end of the first year of storage. These investigations have 

 disclosed the fact that seed stored at relatively high altitudes in 

 the West where the humidity is relatively low keep much better 

 than when stored at low altitudes in the Middle West and East 

 under a relatively high summer humidity, particularly when not 

 in sealed retainers. 



Haack's 2 investigations show that even in sealed receptacles a 

 low temperature is preferable to a high or fluctuating one. The 

 keeping of Scotch pine on ice in air-tight receptacles proved 

 under all conditions superior to other methods, this being particu- 

 larly true regarding the retention of germinative energy. 



36. Wet or Moist Storage 



Seeds which lose their vitality or in which the vitality is weak- 

 ened by dry storage must be stored under conditions which afford 

 more moisture. Seeds which do not permit of dry storage cannot 

 be stored later than the spring following maturity if subjected to 

 a fluctuating temperature. With the advent of spring and higher 

 temperature the moist condition of the seed induces germination. 

 If kept dry enough to check germination, the seed is likely to 



1 Recknagel, A. B.: The equipment and operation of a Prussian seed- 

 extracting establishment. (Forestry Quarterly, vol. X, p. 233. 1912.) 



2 Haack, Oberforster: Der Kiefernsamen. (Zeitschrift f. Forst- u. Jagd- 

 wesen, S. 353-381. 1909.) 



