35 



Spruce. In itself the seed is good enough; not once since 1902 03 

 has the quality of the seed been poor. In that year for the first 

 time I received the seed direct from the State of Washington, on 

 the coast of the Pacific, and since then I have obtained it regularly 

 from there. The seed, however, is not easy to bring to germination. 

 It requires a higher temperature, and even then progresses very 

 slowly from the commencement. It was only in the earlier years 

 that some of the seed was bad and impure, a fact that is better 

 brought out if the twenty-five years are divided into two periods: 

 the 15 years from 1887 to 1901 and 10 years from 1902 to 1912. 



Per cent purity: highest lowest average 



In the first period 93.6 30 66.7 



second 99.3 91.4 96.6 



* Real value per cent : highest lowest average 



In the first period 79.1 16.5 45.5 



second 88.4 58.6 75.6 



The best and worst germination results were as follows: 



Germination in per cent after 5 10 20 30 days 



In the first period 189091 .... 30 83 (+ 9) 



188990.... 10 17(+47) 



second* 1911 12. . . . 23 62 84 87 (-J- 2) 



190405.... 21 50 57 (+10) 



Thus during the last ten years, since 1902, not a single lot of 

 Sitka Spruce seed has had to be rejected; indeed the average real 

 value in the second period might have been even higher than the 

 figures given. It is indeed not an accident that the highest germ- 

 inating energy and germinating capacity are shown in the last 

 year; but this is the consequence of the continually improving 

 technical skill of the seed-testing Establishment. Nevertheless the 

 valuable Sitka Spruce is, unfortunately, one of those kinds of 

 seeds which often fail in the nursery, simply because this seed, 

 in a particularly high degree, requires a careful soaking and pre- 

 germination before sowing. 



In 188990 I had a small sample of Danish Sitka Spruce seed 

 which germinated 16 % in 15 days and 26 / in 30 days. 



For the rest, Sitka Spruce seed in particular is suitable for 



* The practical or real value is : purity X (germinating capacity, plus sound but not yet germinated seeds) 



100 



3* 



