18 Farmers' Bulletin 1123. 



such species as the ashes, catalpa, honey locust, sycamore, and 

 any others that retain the seed on the trees until that time. A 

 few kinds of seed ripen during the spring or summer and must, 

 of course, be collected at that time. Seed of such species as 

 willow and cottonwood, which scatters soon after ripening, must be 

 gathered promptly. Seed which hangs on the tree for a considerable 

 period, such as that of ash and sycamore, may be gathered more at 

 leisure. 



TABLE 6. Seed which ripens in spring or summer. 



WHERE TO COLLECT. 



Middle-aged trees growing in the open, in fence corners, or along 

 roadsides, and with broad-spreading crowns ordinarily produce seed 

 in greater abundance than those growing in dense forests. Trees of 

 this kind, when they are of vigorous growth, are among the best 

 sources of seed. On areas where trees are being felled for lumber or 

 other uses splendid opportunities are often afforded for seed collecting. 

 When the trees are felled, seed borne in their tops is easily gathered. 



HOW TO COLLECT. 



Tree seed must necessarily be picked by hand. Seed of the oaks, 

 hickories, walnut, beech, chestnut, often that of the locust, and 

 sometimes that of other species, may be gathered from the ground. 

 The seed of such trees as the ashes, cherries, cottonwood, willow, 

 hackberries, sycamore, and basswood, which clings to the branches, is 

 picked from the standing trees or from those felled in lumbering opera- 

 tions. Pruning shears on a long pole or a home-fashioned iron hook, 

 sharpened on its inner edge and fastened to a long pole, may often be 

 used to advantage in clipping the seed from standing trees. Some- 

 times, with the aid of a hook or a rope thrown over a branch, the 

 seed may be pulled down within reach. Professional seed gatherers 

 often climb the trees to reach the seed. 



SEED EXTRACTION. 



The fruit of some hardwood trees requires special treatment to 

 separate the seed from the fleshy covering, pod, or hull. 



