12 Practical Forestry 



collecting in October, but should not be sown before the 

 first week in April. 



Douglas Fir seed is, in most cases, readily removed from 

 well-ripened cones by threshing or by pulling the cone to 

 pieces, but, in some instances, particularly where the 

 quantity is large, kiln-drying is resorted to. The seeds 

 are ripe in December and should be gently watered and 

 sown in May. 



Elm seeds are ripe in June, when they may either be 

 sown at once, or dried and kept in stock for planting in 

 March and April. 



Hawthorn seed, or berries, may be sown when collected, 

 or the outer coating rotted off by keeping them during the 

 winter in moist sand. 



Hazel nuts may be collected in autumn and sown at once, 

 or kept till spring. 



Holly berries require to be placed in sand for about 

 eighteen months so as to rot off the fleshy outer coating, 

 and may be sown in March. The mixture of sand and 

 berries, which should be about in equal proportions, must 

 be turned frequently. They are usually sown with the 

 sand in which they have been lying. 



Horse and Spanish Chestnut seeds may be taken 

 together, the method of collecting and sowing being very 

 similar in both cases. They are ripe by the middle of 

 October, and may either be sown at once or kept till 

 spring. One seed to 4 square in. will be close enough. 



Larch cones, when ripe, are of a rather bright 'brown 

 colour and require to be collected from the trees. This 

 should not, however, be done till spring, though occasionally 

 they are gathered in December. They part with the seeds 

 far more readily than those of the Scotch Fir, and conse- 

 quently require less heat when in the kiln. 



Maple seeds are ready for collecting about October, and 

 should not be sown till the beginning of April. 



Mountain Ash, indeed, all the Pyrus family and others 

 of a like kind, require the berries to be placed in sand, and 

 when the outer fleshy coating has rotted away they may 

 be sown either in autumn or spring. 



