EVERGREEN TREES. : 153 
termed delicate seeds, for though small they retain their 
vitality for a comparatively long time. Most of them may 
be kept in any cool, dry place during winter without re- 
ceiving any apparent injury. There are some kinds which 
will retain their vitality under proper conditions for twenty 
or thirty years, while others will not germinate after the 
first season. 
The germinating power of all seeds is more or less weak- 
ened by age, consequently it is always best to procure 
them as fresh as possible, and not delay the planting longer 
than is absolutely necessary. 
As many of the coniferous Evergreens shed their seeds 
soon after the cones are mature, it is often necessary to 
gather them before these open, and it is always best to be 
a little in advance of the time than to be too late. If the 
cones are not fully ripe in appearance, the seeds usually 
will be, or they will ripen if left in the cones after they are 
gathered. A few years since, when the great tree of Cal- 
ifornia (Sequoia gigantea) was first discovered, a friend 
sent me a branch with some six cones attached for a cabinet 
specimen, and although it was taken from the tree before 
the cones were fully matured, they ripened sufficiently for 
growth, and I succeeded in starting two hundred of them. 
I mention this circumstance to show that it is not always 
requisite to have seeds appear to be fully ripe to insure 
their growth; in fact, some kinds will grow more readily 
if gathered before they are ready to fall than after. Some 
kinds may be safely sown in open seed-beds; but, as a 
rule, all plants are benefited by a partial shade when young, 
_ especially when we have dry, hot weather in summer, It 
