66 EIGHTH REPORT OF THE 



sSpecial Report of Forester Pettis on tl)e Gathering of 



^prace deed. 



Albany, N. Y., December 8, 1902. 

 Col. William F. Fox, Superintendent State Forests, Albany : 



Sir. — In accordance with your directions I spent some time this fall in 

 collecting a supply of seed from our native Red Spruce for use in the State 

 nurseries next Spring, and would respectfully submit, in the following pages, 

 a report on the details of the methods and operations connected with that work. 



The collection of tree seed is as much the work of the forester as the 

 gathering of seed-corn is that of the farmer. The market price of Red Spruce 

 seed, when obtainable at all, is two dollars or more per pound, with no assurance 

 of its quality or that it will germinate — facts which stimulated us in our efforts 

 to secure a supply. The results obtained from this work may render a record of 

 our experience valuable to others who may wish to collect Feeds of this species, 

 and may be useful at the office of the Commission in answering requests for 

 information. Further work along this line will probably suggest better methods; 

 but, such as they were, I will venture to describe them here. Only Red Spruce 

 seed was collected, as no White Pine cones could be found in our forests 

 this year. 



Red 3praoe Cones. 



The cones of the Red Spruce (Picea ritbens Sarg.) are ovate-oblong, narrowing 

 gradually from near the middle to an acute apex. In length they vary usually 

 from about one and one fourth to two and one fourth inches, with a diameter at 

 the middle of five eighths to one inch. The cones are made up of scales attached 

 to a central stem and overlapping one another, an average-sized cone having 

 about fifty scales. At the base and on the upper side of each scale are two little 

 depressions, each of which contains a winged seed. The seeds are small, about 

 one third the size of a grain of buckwheat. 



The largest quantity and best quality of cones were found on medium-sized 

 trees, twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, situated above the swamps or on the 

 hillsides. Similar trees were often found side by side — one with cones, the other 

 without. There was no apparent reason for this difference unless it was that the 

 fruiting tree enjoyed more light. 



