SEEDS 47 



Spruce, Ponderosa Pine, and White Pine. Usually, however, the 

 cones of but one species are found in a single cache. 



Take White Pine as an example. It grows naturally over the 

 New England states. It is also scattered generally over Michigan, 

 Wisconsin, Minneosta, and portions of Canada. In certain years 

 the White Pine in Canada will bear a good crop of cones while the 

 cone crop elsewhere is a failure; it is therefore necessary to have a 

 number of collectors in all sections where the desired conifers are 

 growing. The conifers of the Rocky Mountains grow rather gener- 

 ally all over the range from New Mexico north, and the Pacific 

 Coast produces trees well over the entire western slope. 



Seeds are collected in quantity during the seeding years which 

 only occur two, three or more years apart. In most varieties of 

 conifers it is therefore necessary to secure seed during the seeding 

 year, to store until fresh seed is again available. Many of the va- 

 rieties lose their germinating power rapidly after they have been 

 taken from the cones. However, this difficulty is overcome in va- 

 rious ways. Take, for instance, the Douglas Fir, from Colorado; if 

 seed has been stored over for two years it will be necessary to plant 

 double the quantity of seed to give the necessary amount of seedlings 

 per square foot. Sometimes the collectors extract the seed from the 

 cones in the woods, others ship the cones just as they are gathered, 

 and the nurseryman or seed dealer removes the seed from the cones. 

 This is rather 'a simple operation in most varieties providing you 

 have the proper equipment, which consists of trays and a room, 

 steam heated, where the temperature can be forced and held for 

 eight to ten hours at 140, the temperature necessary to force the 

 cones of Pinus Banksiana to release the little seeds. 



YIELD FROM THE CONES 



* The yield of seeds depends upon the quality of the cones, the 

 thoroughness of drying and extracting and the manner of cleaning. 

 There is a great variation in the yield of seeds from a bushel of 

 cones. The cones of any species fill better during a "seed year" 

 than during "off years," so that in the former there is greater bulk, 

 and especially greater weight of seed. 



CUTTING TEST 



The usual test for quality of conifer seed made by the propagator 

 is what is known as the cutting test, which merely means counting 

 one hundred seeds and cutting them with a sharp knife. This will 

 determine the percentage of sound seed, but it will not disclose 



