CHAP. CXIII. 



CONI FE1UE, 



2131 



2010 



species, some containing as many as 300; and the 

 seeds of most species, when allowed to remain in 

 the cone, preserve their vegetative power for several 

 years. The cones are mature, in some species, at the 

 end of the first year, but, in most, not till the end of 

 the second autumn. They ought to be gathered a 

 short time before they are perfectly ripe, in order to 

 prevent the scales from opening, and the seeds from 

 dropping out. In the European ^bietinae, the seeds 

 begin to drop from the cones which remain on the 

 trees generally in March ; for which reason February 

 is a good month to collect them. The cones of Pinus 

 sylvestris, and of the allied sorts, soon open of them- 

 selves, after they have been gathered from the tree, and 

 spread out in the sun ; but the cones of P. Pinaster, 

 P. Pinea, and the allied sorts, though treated in the 

 same manner, will not open their scales for several 

 months, or even a year. The cones of Cedrus Libani 

 will not open till they have been three years or up- 

 wards on the trees ; and, when they are gathered, it is 

 almost always necessary to steep them in water for 24 

 hours, and afterwards to expose them before a fire, or to the sun. In Scot- 

 land, France, and Germany, the seeds of the Pinus sylvestris and of the Z/arix 

 europse'a, are very commonly separated from the cones by kilndrying, and 

 afterwards thrashing them ; but, as the heat of the kiln is sometimes carried 

 to such excess as to destroy the vital principle, it is considered safer to steep 

 the cones before drying, in which case less fire is requisite ; or to split them 

 by inserting an iron triangular-pointed instrument, not unlike a shoemaker's 

 awl, into the axis of the cone, at its broad end. The cones are also some- 

 times broken by passing them through a bone-mill, or between two cylinders ; 

 or by putting them into a bark-mill. The cones of the silver and the balm 

 of Gilead firs, and also of the Pinus tftrobus, open of themselves in a dry 

 room, and give out their seeds with less trouble than those of any other 

 species. 



A Kiln for drying the Cones of the Abietints is described by Sang, as being 

 constructed in the manner of a common malt-kiln. The joists or beams 

 which support the floor, or surface on which the cones are to be spread, 

 should be about 9 ft. above the hearth on which the fire is placed, and 

 2 in. apart. " A haircloth is spread over them from side to side of the 

 kiln, and the cones are laid on it to the thickness of 12 in. or 14 in. A 

 gentle fire is then applied, and regularly kept up till the cones become opened. 

 During the time of drying the cones must be frequently turned upon the kiln ; 

 and when the seeds begin to drop out, they must be removed to a dry shed, 

 and sifted till all the seeds which are loose fall out, and be taken from among 

 the cones. The cones are afterwards to be thrashed severely with flails, and 

 sifted as before, and so on till the seeds are taken out as completely as pos- 

 sible." (Kalcndar, p. 326.) Various modes of constructing drying-kilns will 

 be found given in our Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture. 



The most general Time for sowing the Seeds of the Abietines is in the end 

 of March, or in April. The ground ought to be in good heart, light, and 

 sandy rather than loamy, and prepared as finely as possible. The seeds 

 may be most conveniently sown in beds ; and, after being gently beaten 

 down with the back of a spade or a slight roller, they should be covered with 

 light soil or leaf mould to the depth of a sixteenth, an eighth, or, at most, 

 a quarter, of an inch, according to the size of the seeds, and covered 

 with branches of trees or shrubs, fronds of fern, wickerwork hurdles, or 

 netting, to shade the soil from the sun, and protect the seeds from birds. 

 If, indeed, the seeds are gently patted in with the back of the spade, and the 

 beds kept shaded, and of a uniform gentle moisture, no covering at all is 



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