THE CULTURE OF CONIFERS 27 



collector will naturally gather. It is a good plan to keep in touch 

 with your collector throughout the entire year. Write to him 

 often; ask him to send samples of the young cones, even though 

 the samples are worthless and of no value; it helps to keep his 

 interest up. 



Collecting the cones. It is found that there are three methods of 

 collecting cones; from felled trees, from standing trees, and from 

 the squirrel hoards. Where logging is going on, it is often possible 

 to pick cones from the felled trees on the ground after the brush is 

 piled. In collecting from standing trees it may or may not be 

 necessary to climb. Cones can often be stripped from short- 

 limbed trees by cone hooks fastened to poles or even picked off by 

 hand. Squirrels' caches are often excellent places from which to 

 get cones. Pine squirrels collect and store large quantities. The 

 squirrels do not put by seed for winter only, but continue to collect 

 as long as the supply lasts and the weather permits. It is not 

 uncommon to find in a single one of their caches from eight to 

 twelve bushels of good cones. These caches are located in hollow 

 logs, springy places, and muck, as well as under bushes and felled 

 tree tops. The squirrels do not confine their collecting to a few 

 species, but appear to relish a large variety. Among the species of 

 cones which are often obtained from the squirrels' hoard, are 

 Douglas Fir, Engelmann Spruce, Blue Spruce, Ponderosa Pine, and 

 W'hite Pine. Usually, however, the cones of but one species are 

 found in a single cache. 



Take White Pine, as an example. It grows naturally over the 

 New England States. It is also scattered generally over Michigan, 

 Wisconsin, Minnesota, and portions of Canada. In cci'tain years, 

 the W'hite Pine in Canada will bear a good crop of cones, while the 

 cone crop elsewhere is a failure; it is therefore necessary to have a 

 number of collectors in all sections where the desired conifers are 

 growing. The conifers of the Rocky Mountains grow rather 

 generally all over the range from New Mexico north, and the 

 Pacific Coast produces trees well over the entire western slope. 



Seeds are collected in quantity during the seeding year, which 

 occurs only two, three or more years apart. In most varieties of 

 conifers it is therefore necessary to secure seed during the seeding 

 year, to store until fresh seed is again available. ISIany of the 



