COLLECTION OF SEED. 

 TABLE 2. Kind of seed and price per pound. 



19 



EXTRACTING THE SEED. 



It is exceedingly important that the cones be dried and the seed 

 extracted promptty after collection. An even better plan is to do 

 this while the collection of the cones is in progress. Promptness is 

 necessary because good drying weather does not continue in most 

 parts of the West very long after the cones are ripe, and there is also 

 need for having the fresh seed available for fall sowing. The plan 

 usually followed in extracting yellow pine, Douglas fir, and spruce 

 seed is to spread the cones thinly on canvas sheets to dry in the sun 

 (PL III, fig. 1). This is usually much cheaper than transporting 

 the cones to the drying house and opening them by artificial heat. 

 The rate of drying in the sun depends upon the weather and the 

 species. If the drying is likely to continue until the ground becomes 

 cold and wet, it is well to keep the canvas off the ground by 

 means of brush, or a slightly raised platform of some kind. At night 

 and during damp weather the canvas sheet should be drawn up by 

 <:he corners and either tied in bundles or one side thrown over the 

 cones. In this way the cones retain to some extent the heat absorbed 

 during the hours of sunlight, while the first plan serves the added 

 purpose of protection against nocturnal rodents. 



Cones of lodgepole pine are very difficult to open, and it is often 

 necessary to resort to artificial heat. Even with this species, how- 

 ever, it is best to utilize the sun's heat in opening the cones, since 

 collecting can be done in the summer, owing to the fact that lodge- 

 pole cones are persistent and remain on the trees for years. If the 

 weather has been unfavorable for sun drying, or if collection has 

 been unduly delayed, artificial drying may become necessary even 

 for species usually dried in the open. It can not be too strongly 



