290 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



an under-ground ice-house, and now has one above, which he prefers — the 

 ice keeps in this the best. 



Mr. Carpenter. — I find the bottom layer of my house, which is an under- 

 ground one, keeps better than the layers above. 



Mr. Pell. — Fine charcoal absorbs 90 per cent of air, and that is the 

 reason why it is such a good non-conductor; and it is the very best sub- 

 stance to pack plants in for transportation. • 



Mr. Quinn. — I have frequently packed plants in charcoal dust, and pre- 

 served them better than in any other substance. There is no doubt about 

 its being the best of all substances to fill in the walls of an ice-house, 

 because it holds air and does not decay. 



TREE PLANTING. 



This question was again called up. 



SEEDLING FOREST TREES. 



Mr. R. L. Pell. — The bursting of the flower is the first and most impor- 

 tant step taken by any plant towards producing the seed which is to per- 

 petuate its species. This is the precise period when new chemical changes 

 commence. The juice of the sugar beet, sugar cane, and maple tree, cease 

 to be sweet the moment the flowers become mature. The seeds of the 

 grape, the apple, plum, and lemon, are covered with the pulp of the fruit, 

 which at one stage is tasteless, the next sour, the third sweet, and when 

 fully ripe the annual functions of the tree are discharged. And we may 

 now collect the seeds from the most beautiful individuals of the species we 

 desire to cultivate. They should be sown at once, or preserved in some 

 locality where they will be necessitated to undergo few changes in regard 

 to heat and moisture. Nature sows her seeds immediately on maturity, 

 but many of them do not grow until the ensuing spring, particularly the 

 seeds of pines and firs. Poplar and willow seeds cannot be kept advan- 

 tageously, as they spring up in the fall, a few weeks after dropping from 

 the tree. The seed of the holly and hawthorn lie two years in the ground 

 before they come up, unless they are macerated in water and sown as soon 

 as gathered. The seeds of the fir and pine tribe ripen from October to 

 January. The stone pine, cypress, and cedar of Lebanon, should be first 

 sown in pots. The walnut, chestnut, beech, and acorns, ripen from Octo- 

 ber to December, and may be sown at once, in a sandy loam soil, in drills, 

 and they will sprout in May. Pits with kernels in them, ripen from Sep- 

 tember to November, and should be collected in the latter month, laid in 

 heaps, covered with sand, to rot away the pulp, and sown in the spring. 

 Berries having stones, ripen from August to November ; they may be 

 buried in heaps, and with an occasional turning, left so for two years ; 

 when planted in the spring of the third year, they start up at once and 

 make a rapid growth. The wild cherry pit, if sown in July, when the 

 fruit is ripe, will grow the following spring, but if kept until August, will 

 not come up in less than two years. 



Capsules having small seeds, such as the elder, pinet, spindle tree, and 



