370 NATURE STUDY AND LIFE 



be planted as soon as ripe. If it be desired to keep them 

 until the following spring, they should be mixed with moist 

 sand and left out of doors through the winter. Small 

 quantities may be covered with a flat stone or an over- 

 turned sod in a place where water is not likely to stand. 



Seeds of fleshy fruits should be washed clean of pulp 

 and planted in the fall, or they may be kept under stones 

 or sods and planted in the spring. Many of these — the 

 pits of cherries, plums, and peaches — germinate better 

 if allowed to freeze while moist. 



A number of the tree seeds are said to be " refractory " 

 from the fact that they insist upon lying dormant one 

 or two years before germinating. The locusts, redbud, 

 thorn apples, red cedar, and lindens belong in this class. 

 If seedlings do not appear the first year, keep the rows 

 in the seed bed well marked and watch for them the 

 following spring. Germination may be hastened with 

 the leguminous seeds and the lindens by pouring boil- 

 ing water over them just before planting. To germi- 

 nate the red cedar soak the berries in strong lye for 

 twenty-four hours, rub off the pulp, and then mix with 

 moist sand and let them freeze during the winter. Even 

 after this, they will probably not germinate until the 

 second spring. Unless magnolia seeds be thoroughly 

 cleansed of their gummy coverings, they will not germi- 

 nate at all. 



Seeds of coniferous trees should be gathered in the 

 early fall, before the cones open. As soon as the cones 

 dry they open and release the seeds. They should be 

 mixed with dry sand and kept in a cold place until the 

 following spring. 



