O.J I HARVESTING FRUITS AND SEKDS OF FOREST TREES 



uttiiclRMl hinders the forniutinii of female inrti)resceuce and pie- 

 vents the formation of eones for future years. 



[In India, mangos are gathered from trees by means of a pui-se-net 

 on a long bamboo, as shewn in fig. 279 ; the saw cutting through tlie 



twig which supports the fruit. — Tr.] 



It is often advisable to climb alder trees and jiluck the 

 fruit-bearing branches, if certain parts of the crowns are laden 

 with I'ipe catkins as is often the case with trees bordering a 

 wood. 



(b) Collecting Fruits and Seeds which have been shed by the 

 Trees. — Only large fruits and seeds such as those of oaks, chest- 



FiG. 279. 



(After t'ernanJez. ) 



nut and beech can be collected from oft" the ground, as they can 

 be easily i)icked up by hand. The seeds are then thoroughly 

 ripe, a fact important for their preservation. Those which fall 

 first should be abandoned as sterile and wormeaten. It is 

 better and cheaper to employ women and children for the work 

 than men, and they should hunt among the leaves for the fruits 

 and place them in sacks. The work is facilitated if the dead 

 leaves, &c. are brushed away from under the trees before the 

 fruit has fallen ; the latter is then swept into heaps and shaken 

 in a coarse sieve, which will remove the dirt. This may be done 

 provided the litter is replaced after the seed has been collected : 

 this precaution is, however, frequently neglected, and the soil 

 under the trees thus impoverished. On this account, sweeping 

 the seeds together should be avoided, except on naturally cleared 

 spaces, roads, &c., where frequently the shed fruit of elms, 

 sycamore and ash may be thus collected. 



