6 EXTRACTING AND CLEANING FOREST TREE SEED. 



Every precaution should be taken to keep away squirrels, chipmunks, 

 and other rodents. This can ordinarily be done by the use of 

 poisoned grain. 



HANDLING CONES IN TRANSIT. 



In transporting cones to the place of extraction similar precau- 

 tions should be taken to keep them dry and to prevent heating. 

 Ordinarily the best method of shipping is in sound gunny or sugar 

 sacks, closely tied to prevent loss of loose seed. When shipped in 

 carload lots stock cars should be used if possible, since these afford 

 the best circulation of air. If box cars must be used, the small doors 

 or windows in the ends of the cars should be left open. The sacks 

 should be stacked in rows with air spaces between them and between 

 the outer rows and the sides of the car. Ample space for circulation 

 of air should be left also between the tops of the stacks and the roof 

 of the car. 



Seed which has ripened naturally and which has been extracted 

 without having been subjected to dampness or overheating is better 

 than that extracted from mildewed or moldy cones. Any precau- 

 tions taken to avoid these unfavorable conditions will produce seed 

 of higher quality. 



DRYING CONES BY NATURAL HEAT. 

 WHERE NATURAL, DRYING IS PRACTICABLE. 



With favorable weather conditions the seed of nearly all coniferous 

 species, except lodgepole pine, can be extracted by the heat of the 

 sun. Where this method can be used it gives the best and cheapest, 

 though not always the quickest, results. In the southern Rocky 

 Mountains it is nearly always practicable because of the clear skies, 

 slight precipitation, and drying winds usually prevalent from Oc- 

 tober to December. In the central and northern Rockies sun drying 

 is possible in normal seasons until about October 20. Thereafter it 

 is uncertain and not to be depended upon as a method of extraction. 

 Sun drying is impracticable on the west side of the Cascades in Ore- 

 gon and Washington because of frequent rains. It can be used in 

 the eastern parts of these States only under particularly favorable 

 weather conditions. Sun drying can be used in southern California, 

 but in the Sierras its success is doubtful, except in particularly dry 

 seasons. In any locality this method may be precluded by an un- 

 usually wet fall, or it may be stopped in the midst of the season by 

 unfavorable weather. 



EQUIPMENT. 



To extract seed to the best advantage by sun drying the work must 

 be thoroughly organized in detail and the necessary equipment must 



