28 



long, considering the northern position of the country, but the 

 amount of sunshine recorded is low in comparison with other 

 countries situated further north such as Northern Sweden, Fin- 

 land and Siberia. In these countries cones ripen more surely and 

 quickly than in Scotland, partly because during summer it is light, 

 and even sunny, throughout most of the twenty-four hours. 



The seed weight of the different strains, as in the case of the 

 spruce, varies considerably. As early as 1888 89 I called attention 

 in my report to this, and stated that 7 Central European samples 



2 from Darmstadt, 2 from Austria, and 3 from Bavaria weighed 

 on the average 5.92 grams per 1000 seeds; 7 Scandinavian samples 



4 from Skane (Sweden), 2 from Norway, and 1 from Finland 

 averaged 4.94 grams per 1000 seeds. It is not to be taken as by 

 any means certain that the Central European samples were ob- 

 tained from cones collected in the neighbourhoods mentioned 

 on the contrary the probability is that the samples from Darm- 

 stadt and Bavaria, though I received them from seed merchants 

 in these places, were obtained from French or Belgian cones, for 

 nowadays cones make long journeys. In 1904 I reported that du- 

 ring the winter of 1901 02, 200 railway waggon loads of pine 

 cones were sent from France and Belgium to one Tree seed estab- 

 lishment in Darmstadt* 



Belgian pine seed is particularly large. In the last few years I 

 have had to deal with small lots of Belgian and North German 

 pine seed and caused them to be tested with the following results: 



Germination in per cent after 

 Seed weight Purity 5 10 20 days 



190910 Seed from the Harz ... 6.0 99.3 63 90 92 

 1910 11 Belgian, from Campinen 7.5 98.6 48 84 91 

 191112 6.3 99.7 62 90 97 



These small consignments I received from reliable collectors, and 

 they are undoubtedly from the places named. 



However, seed of genuine German strain can now be obtained 

 from several German establishments; for the importation of French 

 and Belgian cones, whose seeds have caused such immense harm 

 in German, Russian and Swedish forests, has been greatly restric- 

 ted. Most of the kilns as well as the most reliable of the forest 



* Mitteilungen der Deutschen Dendrologischen Qesellschaft pro 1904; Gehblzsamen-Untersuchungen 

 in der Saison 190304. 



