COLLECTING AND HARVESTING TEEE SEEDS. 



the collecting and sowing being nearly alike in both cases. 

 They are ripe by the beginning of November, and may 

 either be sown at once or kept till spring. One seed to four 

 inches square 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. They part with 

 the seeds far more readily than those of the Scotch fir, and 

 consequently 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. 



Oak. The acorns may be gathered or swept from the 

 ground in November, and either sown at once or stored 

 away in a cool, dry place till spring. One acorn to every four 

 square inches will be ample in the seed bed. 



Scotch Fir cones are better not collected till early in 

 January, but the time may even be extended till March. 

 When quite ripe they have changed from the bluish-green 

 tint to a light grey colour. As the cones part tardily with 

 the seeds artificial means have to be resorted to. This con- 

 sists in placing the cones thinly over a kiln heated to about 

 112 Fahr. or so. They should be turned every third hour, 

 and after about thirty hours the kiln should be cooled down 

 and the cones extracted as quickly as possible. By beating 

 with a flail the seeds are readily removed from the cones, but it 

 is best to do this before the cones have cooled down or imme- 

 diately they are removed from the kiln. The seeds are then 

 swept together and collected, and stored away until wanted 

 for sowing. When not required for sowing at once, the 

 seeds should be thinly spread out on the floor and slightly 

 moistened with water from a fine-rosed watering-can. They 

 should then be turned about until perfectly dry before being 

 stored away. 



Silver Fir seed does not require much, if any, artificial 

 heat to cause it to part from the cone. By placing the cones 



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