AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 31 



the inner wood freezes faster and less moisture is absorbed, and, conse- 

 quently, less sap will be available the following day. This seems to be the 

 chief relation between the weather and the quantity of sap. It should be 

 emphasized that while this is apparently the case, we do not yet have 

 enough evidence to consider it conclusive, and at least another season will 

 be necessary to check the results. The apparatus used this year was not 

 satisfactory because it failed to keep rain and snow from the buckets ; wnnd 

 bothered by blowing off covers and evaporating sap ; and only four of the 

 buckets were large enough to hold a day's run of more than 3,000 c.c. In 

 20 cases these small containers were running over when visited. 



C. L. Stevens, S. Dunn, R. Eggert 



Plantation Studies 



Due to the labor shortage, only two small plantations were established 

 during the spring of 1943. The nursery is well filled with trees that should 

 be moved out and planted, and there are a number of seed beds in which 

 the seedlings are ready for transplanting. The routine examination and 

 measurement of plantations have been carried on as usual, and there is a 

 decided increase in mortality in the hardwood areas, as predicted last year. 



In the study of sprout reproduction the old stumps were measured 

 last fall and 50 new ones have been added to the series during the spring 

 of 1944. The seeds of 10 local species of trees were collected in the 

 autumn and 10 more were purchased from a seed dealer. These were put 

 tlirough the usual tests and the surplus seeds have l^een sown in the nursery 

 to provide material for future plantations. 



In October, a number of white oaks were added to the experiment on 

 transplanting freshly germinated hardwood seedlings. Results this spring 

 have not been encouraging, due in part to the extremely cold weather last 

 winter before snowfall, and in part to the drouth this spring. We now have 

 four species in the test and more will be added next spring. (1945.) 



C. L. Stevens 



White Pine Stands 



In the seed-production study the cones were at the end of their first 

 year of development last autumn. They will be ripe this coming fall, when 

 it is planned to get a somewhat better collection than was possible during 

 the last seed year. Next spring a second series will be added. The data 

 are still too few to support any valid conclusions. 



C. L. Stevens 



Determination of the Supply of Low-Grade Wood 

 Available for Manufacturing into Plastics 



Close co-operation with the Engineering Experiment Station has 

 been maintained in providing wood samples from various tree species for 

 experimental use in the development of plastics manufacture. The prepara- 

 tion of samples involves cutting uniform bolts of white pine, red maple, 

 elm, and gray birch, and reducing them to chips or shavings which can be 

 processed easily. 



