io Practical Forestry 



tion, although this operation should be as carefully attended 

 to as in the case of the seeds of any other form of crop. 

 After being collected, the seeds of all trees, unless such as 

 are mixed with sand for the purpose of rotting, should be 

 thinly and evenly spread out in a sunny spot, until thor- 

 oughly dry. They may then be deposited in a cool, airy 

 place, and in thin layers, until wanted for sowing. An 

 occasional turning is all-important and should never be 

 neglected. The smaller and less common seeds may, for 

 convenience sake, be hung up in calico bags, but they, too, 

 should be occasionally examined to prevent dampness 

 and heating. 



The number of plants of various kinds that may be 

 expected from a bushel of seed of average quality varies 

 very much, and may be approximately given as follows : 

 Horse Chestnut, 2,500 ; Oak, 6,000 to 8,000 ; Spanish 

 Chestnut, about 3,000 ; Walnut, 5,000 ; Norway Maple, 

 12,000 ; Sycamore, about 12,000 ; Ash, 14,000 ; Beech, 

 10,000; Elm, 1,000; Birch, fully 16,000; Holly, 17,000; 

 Scotch Fir, 9,000. To 1 Ib. of seed : Spruce Fir, about 

 9,000 ; Larch, 3,000 ; and the Cluster Pine, Silver Fir, and 

 some others, from about 500 upwards. 



For convenience in regulating orders for sowing, the 

 following table will show at a glance the approximate and 

 relative number of seeds of the various commonly cul- 

 tivated forest trees contained in 1 Ib. weight : 



Abies nobilis ..... about 19,400 



Abies nordmamiiana . . . . ., 10,000 



Ash 6,8()(> 



Beech 2,700 



Douglas Fir ... .... 95,200 



Horse Chestnut ...... 36 



Hornbeam 9,968 



Larch . . 65,000 



Lawson's Cypress 131,400 



Lebanon Cedar 10,800 



Norway Maple 4,600 



Oak ... 100 



Pinus Austriaca . . . . . ,, 35,000 



Pinus Laricio . . . 43,000 



Pinus Pinaster . . 12,000 



