32 Forest Club Annual 



and make cleaning more difficult. A simple method of removing 

 dirt and needles is to run the cones down an inclined screen 

 fastened in a frame. 



Spreading the cones on large sheets of canvas in the sun is 

 the simplest method of opening them. They should be spread in 

 thin layers of about one bushel to thirty square feet of canvas. 

 Where possible the canvas should be placed on platforms or on 

 anything which will hold it from contact with the ground because 

 more or less moisture is likely to be absorbed and prevent rapid 

 opening of the cones. When spread out in this manner some 

 cones begin to open in four or six hours while others show no 

 sign of opening after two months exposure. Three to five days, 

 however, is the average time required for most cones to open and 

 those which have not opened in this time probably never will 

 without additional treatment. If such cones are soaked in water 

 a few hours and than replaced in the sun nearly all of them will 

 open. One of the chief disadvantages of the canvas method is 

 that the cones are subject to all changes in the weather. Cloudy 

 days, rain or snow delay operations and prevent their opening. 

 After once opened, moisture causes them to close. Another dis- 

 advantage is that the cones are unprotected from the ravages of 

 birds, chipmunks and squirrels. 



The surest and most satisfactory method of opening the 

 cones is by means of artificial heat. The cones are spread out in 

 a building on frames or shelves and submitted to heat from a 

 stove. A very convenient frame can be made from strips one by 

 four inches. These are nailed together in a rectangle and a wire 

 screen is fastened to the bottom. The shelves are supported on 

 two by four standards, on which several may be placed one above 

 the other. In this way heat and air have free access to the cones. 

 When several of these shelves are so placed in a tent or cabin, it 

 gives the appearance of a bunk-house. A cabin is more easily 

 heated although a tent serves the purpose very well. Little 

 precautions such as banking dirt around the sides of the tent 

 and laying wagon covers over the top, aid greatly in holding the 

 heat. An easy way of heating a drying tent or cabin is by means 

 of a small Wilson Air Tight Stove. These burn wood readily 

 and produce much heat. A temperature of 130 to 150 F. may 

 be easily maintained in a tent with such a stove and this will 

 cause most cones to open in 48 hours. They should, however, 

 be dried longer than this for the wider they open the easier the 

 seed may be extracted. The cones should be spread in as thin 

 layers as possible in order to permit free circulation of air. It 

 has been found by experiment that dry air is necessary to open 

 the cones but heat must first be applied to loosen the resin 



