28 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



varieties lose their germinating power rapidly after they have been 

 taken from the cones. However, tliis difficulty is overcome in 

 various ways. Take, for instance, the Douglas Fir, from Colorado; 

 if seed has been stored over for two years it will be necessaiy to 

 plant double the quantity of seed to give the necessar}' amount of 

 seedlings per square foot. Sometimes the collectors extract the seed 

 from the cones in the woods, others ship the cones just as they are 

 gathered, and the nurseryman or seed dealer removes the seed from 

 the cones. This is rather a simple operation in most varieties 

 providing you have the proper equipment, which consists of trays 

 and a room, steam heated, where the temperature can be forced 

 and held for eight to ten hours at 140 degrees, the temperature 

 necessary to force the cones of Pinus Banksiana to release the little 

 seeds. 



Yield from the cones. The yield of seeds from the cones depends 

 upon the quality of the cones, the thoroughness of drying and 

 extracting, and the manner of cleaning. There is a great variation 

 in the yield of seeds from a bushel of cones. The cones of any 

 species fill better during a "seed year" than during "off years," 

 so that in the former there is greater bulk, and especially greater 

 weight of seed. 



Cutting test. The usual test for quality of conifer seed made by 

 the propagator is what is known as the cutting test, which merely 

 means counting one hundred seeds and cutting them with a sharp 

 knife. This will determine the percentage of sound seed, but it 

 will not tell their power to germinate. Many seeds will show a 

 sound germ, which for some reason will not have the power to 

 germinate. 



The result of extensive experiments with germinating tests has 

 developed that most of the conifer seeds will respond to the treat- 

 ment and show a sufficient germination in thirty days to determine 

 the quality of the seed. Some varieties, however, with hard shells, 

 like Pinus Cembra and Pinus Coulteri, require from one to two 

 hundred days to determine their growing power. 



The treatment of seed. Now, after the nurseryman has secured 

 his yearly requirements, in each and every variety of conifer seed, 

 to take care of his annual planting, we have reached the point 

 where it is necessary to give some thought to the treatment of 



