30 FORESTKY WORK 



November. — Oak, Larch, Spruce, Silver Fir, Hawthorn, 



Holly ; also Beech and Ash, if late in ripening. 

 December to February. — Scots Pine, Corsican Pine, 



Austrian Pine. 

 (These dates apply principally to England. In 



Scotland the seeds are usually from a fortnight to 



a month later in ripening.) 



Except for the more easily collected seed, it is usually 

 cheaper to buy a supply from a good nurseryman. 



Foreign seeds of Larch, Spruce, Corsican, Austrian, 

 and Weymouth Pines, and Spanish Chestnut, to name a 

 few of the more common varieties, are usually superior 

 to home-grown seed. 



Extraction of Seed. 



On very few estates is there a seed-kiln for extracting 

 seeds of conifers, and unless a large quantity of any 

 particular conifer seed, such as Scots Pine, is annually 

 required, the expense of erecting a kiln is not warranted. 

 It is better to send the seed collected at home to a nursery- 

 man to extract and clean. 



When a small quantity of seed from any particular tree 

 is to be extracted, use can be made of an ordinary hot-air 

 incubator. A tray made of laths with wire-nettmg at the 

 bottom is used to hold the cones. 



The heat required to extract the seeds from the cones 

 of Scots Pine— namely, 110° F.— or for Larch (105° F.) 

 is easily regulated by anyone who understands an incu- 

 bator. 



