INCENSE CEDAR. 35 



ARTIFICIAL FORESTATION. 



SEED COLLECTING. 



GATHERING THE SEED. 



The seed of incense cedar matures usually during the latter part 

 of September or the first three weeks of October. The ripe cones 

 may be gathered from the trees and the seed extracted later, or by 

 spreading canvas or blankets beneath the trees and vigorously thrash- 

 ing the branches the seed may be collected direct. 



EXTRACTING AND CLEANING SEED. 



Where the cones have been collected from the trees it is necessary 

 to extract the seed artificially. This is usually done by spreading the 

 cones on canvas or blankets in the sun until they open, which requires 

 about three days, and then thrashing out the seed by hand. In stormy 

 weather a drying house and artificial heat are necessary. 



It is desirable to remove the wings from the seed, so far as is pos- 

 sible, and this may be accomplished in a measure by rubbing them 

 vigorously between the hands, thus breaking off the greater portion 

 of the wing. As a rule, however, this is not done, the seed simply 

 being separated from the chaff and light nonfertile seed by means 

 of a fanning mill fitted with screens of the proper mesh, or by pouring 

 the seed from one box to another in a current of air. 



YIELD AND COST OF SEED COLLECTION. 



Incense cedar seed is quoted by various seed dealers on the Pacific 

 coast at from $1.65 to $4 a pound, and seed collected by the Forest 

 Service in the past has cost from $1.50 to $2.25 a pound, according 

 to the conditions under which the collecting was done. As to the 

 yield to be expected, experience has shown that on the average from 

 2 to 3 pounds of clean seed can be secured from a bushel of cones, 

 while the number of seed per pound averages about 16,000. 



Seed of this species keeps best if placed in bags and stored in a 

 cool, dry, well- ventilated place. Since it is very apt to mold if large 

 quantities are kept in one bag with insufficient ventilation, the bags 

 should not be too large and they should be hung up rather than piled 

 in a compact heap, a precaution which also guards against the depre- 

 dations of rodents. 



NURSERY PRACTICE. 



Owing to its relatively low germination per cent (from 20 to 40), 

 it is necessary to sow incense cedar seed comparatively heavily. On 



