318 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



than in the past, and the reports from various parts of the State 

 show that more was collected than is usual. For instance, a man in 

 Winchendon has collected 100 pounds of clean seeds this fall, em- 

 ploying- boys to pick the cones for him, and he netted at least $100 

 on the job. Massachusetts could be made to supply its own seed for 

 reforestation, and it is squandering a valuable product so long as it 

 does not. The rebuilding of our forests is of such vast importance 

 that it is the first subject to be taken up at the conference of New 

 England Governors soon to be held in Boston. Land owners have 

 an excellent opportunity this fall to provide themselves with the 

 seeds of hardwood trees, such as the white ash, the rock maple, the 

 hickory, the chestnut and the beech tree. The picking should begin 

 at once, and it should be completed before the second week in No- 

 vember. 



On the white ash, for example, the leaves have fallen off and the 

 seed remains on the tree; they are about two inches long, and are 

 provided with wings, hence are easily seen and reached. A medium- 

 sized tree, about as large as an ordinary apple tree, may yield about 

 20 pounds of seed, retailing at about $1 per pound. Almost any other 

 crop of equal value would be taken care of, but this one, as a rule, 

 is allowed to go to the winds. It can be harvested into a bag without 

 much difficulty, either by shinning the tree or raising a ladder. There 

 is a good demand for white ash. The seed of the rock maple has 

 about the same commercial value; it is easier to gather, because the 

 limbs on the tree hang low, and it will remain on the tree two or 

 three weeks longer. How to keep the seeds of the white ash and the 

 rock maple over winter is a problem that requires some attention, 

 but it is not difficult. It is only necessary to dig a hole in the ground 

 some feet deep and sink a box into it; in the bottom of the box put 

 a layer of sand, and then spread a layer of seed 5 inches thick; cover 

 this with 2 to 3 inches of coarse sand, and repeat the layers until 

 the box is filled or the supply exhausted. Then cover the box about 

 1 foot deep, to prevent the contents from freezing, and the stock 

 will keep until next April, when it should be taken up. Kept thus 

 during the winter it is ready for planting in the spring, and should be 

 set half an inch deep in rows about 1 foot apart. In one year the 

 plants will be large enough to transplant to the forest where they 

 are to remain. 



The first substantial frost will open the burrs on the white oak, 

 the chestnut, the hickory and the beech, and the seeds will drop to 

 the ground, where they can be picked without any difficulty. The 

 acorn is worth about $2 a bushel, the chestnut 15 cents a quart and 

 the hickory nut $3 per bushel. They are layered for the winter in 

 the same way as the white ash and rock maple, and in case of only a 

 small quantity the most serviceable method is to sink a 2-foot tile 

 into the ground and fill it with layers of sand and nuts, stretching a 



