NCRSERV PRACTICE FOR PRAIRIE-PLAINS PLANTING 



9 



Most trees seem better able to adapt themselves to a shortage of 

 moisture than to temperatures either lower or higher than those to 

 which they are accustomed. Also, the effect of early frosts or low 

 winter temperatures upon a southern form may not be serious if 

 growth is checked by early fall dryness. Wood "ripening" is very 

 important in this relation. 



Several sources of seed are available in the prairie-plains region. 

 The best source is that provided by the native trees that grow along 

 streams and drainage ways, in gulches and draws, on rock outcrops, 

 and in sand-dune areas. An additional source is provided by farm 

 windbreaks, parks, street trees, and test plantings at various State 

 and Federal experiment stations. 



Table 3. 



-Overwinter survival of transplants 1 in a Nebraska nursery of stock from 

 different seed sources 



Source 



Total sur- 

 vival 



Suitable for 

 planting, 

 per lot 2 



North Dakota 



South Dakota 



Percent 

 78 

 68 

 75 

 72 

 65 



Percent 

 12 

 45 

 46 

 36 

 22 



Kansas 



Oklahoma 



" From fall 1935. when Transplanted, to fall 1936 when field planted. 



i This includes all lots and is based on a number of seed which theoretically should have germinated .500 

 seedlings in each lot. 



It is considered safest to collect seed from native trees which have, 

 in the course of centuries, adapted themselves to the rigorous climate 

 of the prairie-plains. Seedlings produced from seed of parent trees 

 growing where soil moisture is rather scant may be more uniformly 

 drought-hardy than those growing from seed collected where soils are 

 naturally subirrigated. Here again, however, is encountered the 

 problem of germination quality, the drier sites generally producing 

 fewer good seeds. 



If seed is collected from planted trees or shrubs it is a good policy to 

 pick only from individuals growing under dry -land conditions. Seed 

 from well-formed, vigorous specimens growing in windbreaks and 

 shelterbelts which have received no artificial watering is entirely 

 acceptable. Such sources should be depended on for all exotic species 

 winch have shown adaptability to prairie-plains conditions. This is 

 considered better practice than relying on new importations of seed 

 whose origin may be entirely different from that of previous lots which 

 have been successful here. 



Classes of Fruits 



To avoid misunderstanding, the following definitions are given of 

 terms commonly employed in this discussion of seed. Descriptive 

 botanical words not in common use are avoided as far as possible. 



The term "fruit" is used in the botanical sense, not to denote some- 

 thing edible, but rather any product resulting from the fertilization 

 and subsequent development of a flower, as a bean pod, or a walnut 

 or acorn with its covering, as well as an apple, a cherry . or a st rawberrv. 



