XV 



HOW TO CARE FOR AND WHEN TO SOW FOREST 

 TREE SEEDS 



NATURE takes little care of the seeds of our important 

 timber trees. She practically sows them as soon as they 

 mature and fall from the tree, and their destination is little 

 or no better than chance. In so far as the period of sowing 

 is concerned, we may, with few exceptions, follow her ; but 

 this is not always convenient nor is it in all cases advisable. 

 Some tree seeds can be safely and advantageously stored 

 for a time and the sowing delayed. This can be done with 

 nearly all seeds that mature in the latter part of summer 

 or in the fall, for with these Nature does not demand im- 

 mediate growth. But of such as ripen in early summer, as 

 do the Elms and soft Maples, she demands prompt growth, 

 and such cannot be stored, but must be promptly sown that 

 they may at once begin life and become strong enough to 

 endure the rigors of the coming winter. Such seeds cannot, 

 after becoming ripe, be kept many days without seriously 

 impairing their vitality ; but practically all seeds ripening 

 in the fall can, with the right care, be stored until the 

 following spring, and some for a longer time, even for three 

 years ; but it is not advisable to use seed of any species that 

 is more than one year old, and it is far better to sow them 

 the spring following their maturity. 1 



1 The germinating power of seeds is not uniform, even when they are 

 gathered from the same tree, at the same time, and receive the same treat- 

 ment in the seed-bed ; and those germinating soonest produce the strongest 

 plants. Germination of coniferous seeds may be aided by soaking them 

 twenty-four hours in water at about 130 F., but soaked seeds should not 

 be sown in dry ground unless the ground is immediately watered in some 

 way, for otherwise the dry soil will absorb the moisture in the seeds and 

 the further progress of germination, which is then undoubtedly in an incipi- 

 ent stage, will be fatally arrested. 



