﻿48 BULLETIN" 13, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



OBTAINING THE SEED. 



Seed may be procured either by purchase from dealers or by col 

 lecting the cones in the woods. If seeds are purchased, the dealer 

 should be required first to furnish a sample and to guarantee that 

 the remainder of the seed will be equal to it in quality. The sample 

 should be tested by cutting open 100 or 200 with a sharp knife and 

 observing the percentage of those which are plump, well-filled, and 

 oily — indications of good quality. While the actual germination per 

 cent will be lower than that shown by the cutting test, the result will 

 be a reasonably safe guide to the quality of the seed. Seed is likely 

 to be better and cheaper during years of abundant production than 

 during off years. Wherever possible the climate of the region where 

 the seed is collected should be like that in the region where it is used. 



White-pine seed ordinarily costs from $1.40 to $4 per pound, 

 averaging about $2.25. The cost of collecting seed, however, is rela- 

 tively low, ranging from 60 cents to $2.50 per pound, and, if properly 

 done, better seed can be secured than by purchase. Where the area 

 to be planted or sown is large and cones can be obtained in quantities 

 from a near-by forest, it may be advisable to collect the seed. 



The cones should be collected just before they open, which is 

 usually during the first half of September, or perhaps a week earlier 

 or later, depending upon the season and the situation. In the open 

 and on south exposures cones mature earlier than in dense woods or 

 on north slopes. When some of the cones begin to turn brown it is 

 usually time to collect them. Cones may be secured from trees felled 

 in logging or, if lumbering is not going on, by climbing the trees and 

 picking them off. Trees growing in the open bear more cones and 

 are easier to climb than those in dense stands. Cones may some- 

 times be obtained from squirrels' hoards. 



As soon as collected, or even while collection is in progress, the 

 cones should be dried and the seeds extracted. Since rain or damp 

 weather will handicap this work, it is best done indoors. If the 

 weather is clear, however, the cones may be dried by spreading them 

 out thinly on canvas sheets in the sun and wind. The sheets should 

 be made into bundles at night or a loose flap thrown over the cones. 

 If the weather becomes damp, drying should be completed indoors. 



When the cones are dried indoors a room should be selected in 

 which there is a free circulation of air, but which rodents and birds 

 can not enter. The cones should be placed in racks made of laths 

 laid parallel one-half inch apart, fastened at each end by laths nailed 

 above and below. The racks, built like shelves one above the other 

 about 18 inches apart on notched uprights fastened to the floor and 

 ceiling, should be 4 feet square, which would give them a capacity of 

 2 1 bushels of cones, though drying will be facilitated if a less amount 



