CONIFEROUS TREE SEEDS. 87 



carefully stored or they will lose their vitality. They should 

 be kept similarly to the seed of the Ash and Box Elder, but 

 are more liable to injury than these kinds from too much 

 moisture or heat, and for this reason some careful growers 

 prefer to always keep them mixed with dry sand in a cool 

 shed. 



The seeds of the Red Cedar hang on the tree all winter 

 and must be picked by hand. They should be soaked in strong 

 lye for twenty-four hours, the fleshy covering removed by 

 rubbing them against a fine sieve and then stratified in sand, 

 where they will be frozen during- the winter. Even with this 

 treatment they will seldom grow until the second year. 



ilaising Coniferous Trees from Seed. The land selected for 

 sowing the seed should have a light, porous surface soil, 

 preferably underlaid with a moist subsoil that will not dry 

 out easily. It should be so located as to have good circula- 

 tion of air over it that the plants may dry off quickly after 

 rains and it must be so shaded as to keep off about one-half 

 of the sunlight. This latter permits a play of light and shade 

 over the bed all day and is about the condition under which 

 we find nature raising such seedlings where trees partially 

 shade the ground and protect them from the constant rays of 

 the sun. In practice we aim to secure these conditions as 

 follows: A piece of well-drained, rather sandy soil, in an 

 airy place is selected and laid out in beds four feet wide. In 

 May the seeds are sown rather thickly (about three srood seeds 

 to a square inch) either broadcast or in rows and covered 

 with about one-fourth inch of sandy loam and then with about 

 one-fourth inch of clear sand. Some of the smaller seeds, 

 like those of White Spruce, should not be covered more than 

 one-fourth inch. Before the seedlings break the ground a 

 frame work six feet above the beds is made and covered with 

 laths laid about one and one-half inches apart running north 

 and south, or with sufficient brush to shut out about one-half 

 the sunlight. If the bed is very much exposed to the winds it 

 should have similar protection on all sides. In such a place 

 as this or in woodlands where these conditions can be fulfilled 

 evergreens can be raised with much certainty, while if planted 

 in the open ground most kinds are sure to fail. 



The most common cause of failure with those who try to 



