CULTURAL VALUE OF SEED 



117 



of open stands of beech or pine often succeeds, as in other places where 

 this species is suited to the cUmate. In the Loz^re seeding is employed 

 only for the pedunculate oak, chestnut, and Scotch pine. In the Aude 

 and the Pyr^n^es-Orientales holm oak and maritime pine are sown. 

 Pedunculate oak, chestnut, and aleppo pine in this region are both sown 

 and planted, with a preference for sowing. 



SEED 



Cultural Value of Seed. — It is important for successful artificial 

 forestation that the real cultural value of the seed to be used should 

 be known in advance. Much attention has been given to this point. 

 After comparing the results obtained at Paris and Barr^s with those 

 at other experiment stations, Fron concludes that the average seed 

 value of the principal tree species, bought in the open market, is as 

 given below. This signifies that for larch 10 pounds must be used 

 where the sowing plans call for 4 pounds. 



TABLE 9. — AVERAGE SEED VALUE 



Species 



Scotch i)ine. . . 

 Mountain pine 

 Austrian pine. 

 Maritime pine . 

 Aleppo pine . . . 



Spruce 



Larch 



Fir 



Average 

 purity, 

 per cent 



95+ 



95+ 



95+ 



95+ 



95+ 



95+ 



80-85+ 



88+ 



Average 



germination, 



per cent 



75-80+ 



70 



75-80+ 



75 



80 



75-80 



45-50 



20 



Duration of 

 test, days 



10 

 14 

 30 

 30 

 42 

 30 

 30 

 42 



Average 



cultural value. 



per cent a 



70-75+ 

 66+ 

 70-75+ 

 70+ 

 75 



70-75 

 40+ 

 16. 6 (Zurich) 



" Obtained by dividing the product of germination and purity coefficients by 100. 



The experiments conducted also emphasized the fact, now so generally 

 known, that forest tree seeds cannot be stored successfully without 

 losing so much of their germinative per cent that storage becomes un- 

 profitable, unless kept in air-tight retainers — not yet generally em- 

 ployed by seed houses. Scotch pine, with a cultural value of 74 to 79 

 per cent, was reduced to 49 to 58 per cent the second year, 28 to 45 per 

 cent the third year, and less than 5 per cent the sixth year. These are 

 maximum losses. The cultural value of mountain pine and Austrian 

 pine decreases as rapidly, but maritime pine stands storage much better, 

 and even after 10 years' storage has a cultural value of 40 to 60 per 

 cent. Spruce seed values decrease rapidly with storage; if 73 to 77 per 

 cent the first year, they are 53 to 62 per cent the second, and but 26 to 

 44 per cent the third year. It might almost be said that larch seed 



