260 “ BOTANICAL GAZETTE [OCTOBER 
completed their germination first, followed by the medium sized 
cone, the small cone seeds being last, with two weeks difference 
between the large and small cones. 
These results: have an immediate application in forestation 
work. So far as is known, little attention is being paid to the 
parentage or the condition of the seed before sowing. As pointed 
out previously, only seeds from thrifty trees should be used, and in 
the present study it appears that if it is impossible to collect 
only the largest cones in the field, a screening process is necessary 
to remove the small seeds and secure only those of large size. 
Studies under way show a relationship between the size of seeds and 
the early growth and establishment of forest tree seedlings similar 
to that given here, and it is believed that the ‘‘dominance”’ classes 
in the forest in a measure are an index of the size of the seed from 
which the tree originated. To secure the best possible forest, it is 
believed that forest nursery practice should be confined only to the 
production of trees from the heaviest and therefore largest seed. 
Forest SERVICE 
Wasuincton, D.C. 
