Presence of Seed. 1 3 



judge must be acquainted with the growth of 

 the previous year or years, and if there is a 

 sudden cessation of growth, not accounted 

 for by the season, it may be taken as a sure 

 indication of incipient disease. This is 

 perhaps one of the most important considera- 

 tions, and I recommend foresters to observe it. 



Another indication we shall undoubtedly 

 find, especially where there are conifers, is 

 the presence of seed on young trees. I have 

 never found this fail ; for, in the case of 

 conifers, where the cones have been very 

 numerous, death or impaired health has 

 invariably followed. Nature seems anxious 

 to propagate her species before life becomes 

 extinct — at least it would seem so in such a 

 case as this. Here, too, we learn a lesson as 

 to the collection of seed for nursery purposes, 

 to select those from healthy and mature trees 

 rather than these which the true forester will 

 avoid. 



Other trees we find in a bark-bound 

 condition, that is, the bark is tight and grasps 

 the wood so that the circulation of sap is 

 checked and the cells crushed and disor- 



