NORWAY PINE IN THE LAKE STATES. 3] 



ARTIFICIAL REPRODUCTION. 



Where natural reproduction, fails, or where the laud has been 

 denuded, sowing and planting is the only way to secure a new timber 

 crop. The greatest drawback to the use of Norway pine for artificial 

 reforestation is the scarcity and high cost of the seed and the slightly 

 lower stumpage price as compared with white pine. Norway pine, 

 however, has advantages which white pine does not possess. It will 

 grow better on sandy soil; it is hardier and less subject to natural 

 injuries; it prunes itself earlier, and on poor soils produces more, 

 wood. Scotch pine is often recommended in preference to Norway, 

 because the seed is cheaper and the plants are fully as hardy. 



Opinion among foresters concerning the relative merits of Scotch 

 and Norway pine for planting in the Lake States is somewhat divided. 

 Up to the present the consensus of opinion has usually been in favor 

 of Scotch pine, especially in southern Minnesota, on account of its 

 alleged greater hardiness. If planted on a large scale for forest pur- 

 poses, however, Norway pine has given good results. The fact that 

 it is a native species gives a greater assurance of safety than would 

 the planting of Scotch pine, of which there are as yet no mature for- 

 ests in this country. 



Sowing of Norway pine on the whole has not been successful in the 

 past, and planting has been found the better method. Measurements 

 of Norway pine in New England show the average growth to be 

 greater than that of white pine. On sand, containing varying pro- 

 portions of loam, 40,758 white pine, 30 years old, averaged 26.6 feet 

 in height and 3.7 inches in diameter, while 40,538 Norway pine of the 

 same age averaged 35.4 feet in height and 5.9 inches in diameter. 

 On richer soil, 1,758 white pine, 27 years old, averaged 43.5 feet in 

 height and 5.18 inches in diameter, while 19 Norway pine were on 

 the average 48 feet high and 6.6 inches in diameter. 1 



Although the seed usually begins to fall after the first week in 

 October, it should be collected in late August, September, or early 

 October. The date when it matures varies, of course, with the 

 weather conditions from year to year. The cost of collecting it has 

 been from $2 to $3.06 a pound and higher. Regular seed dealers ask 

 from $4 to $12 a pound for small lots. According to the Forest 

 Service, a bushel of cones will average 1 pound of seed. A pound con- 

 tains from 55,000 to 70,000 individual seeds, with an average germina- 

 tion per cent of 89. In the Georgian Bay region, forty-fifth parallel 

 of latitude, Norway pine seed was found by Zavitz to average only 

 0.26 of a pound to the bushel and 52,000 seed to the pound. After 

 cleaning, germination tests in the greenhouse gave 94 per cent. 



A great deal of original work has been done in the collection and 

 extraction of Norway pine seed by Kennety at the Cloquet Experi- 



1 Measurements made by H. B. Kempton. 



