grass gay with columbines, sweet peas, and 

 wild roses. While the aspens and the lodge- 

 poles are still young they begin to shelter the 

 less hardy coniferous seedlings. But sooner or 

 later both the aspens and the lodge-poles them- 

 selves are smothered by their nurslings. They 

 then surrender their areas to forest trees that 

 will live to be many times their age. 



But that species which is preeminently suc- 

 cessful in bringing back the forest to a burned- 

 over area is the lodge-pole pine. It produces 

 seeds each year and commonly hoards them for 

 many years. Its seeds are light, winged, and 

 easily carried by the wind. As they are fre- 

 quently released by fire, they are sown at the 

 most opportune time, scattered in profusion, 

 and, in windy weather, transported long dis- 

 tances. 



Commonly lodge-pole pine holds on to, or 

 hoards, a percentage of the seeds it bears; that 

 is to say, these seeds remain in the cone, and 

 the cone remains on the tree. In some situa- 

 tions it begins to bear at eight years of age, 

 and in most localities by the time it is twelve. 



219 



