6 EXTRACTING AND CLEANING FOREST TREE SEED. 
Every precaution should be taken to keep away squirrels, chipmunks, 
and other rodents. This can ordinarily be done by the use of 
poisoned grain. 
HANDLING CONES IN TRANSIT. 
In transporting cones to the place of extraction similar precau- 
tions should be taken to keep them dry and to prevent heating. 
Ordinarily the best method of shipping is in sound gunny or sugar 
sacks, closely tied to prevent loss of loose seed. When shipped in 
carload lots stock cars should be used if possible, since these afford 
the best circulation of air. If box cars must be used, the small doors 
or windows in the ends of the cars should be left open. The sacks 
should be stacked in rows with air spaces between them and between 
the outer rows and the sides of the car. Ample space for circulation 
of air should be left also between the tops of the stacks and the roof 
of the car. | 
Seed which has ripened naturally and which has been extracted 
without having been subjected to dampness or overheating is better 
than that extracted from mildewed or moldy cones. Any precau- 
tions taken to avoid these unfavorable conditions will produce seed 
of higher quality. 
DRYING CONES BY NATURAL HEAT. 
WHERE NATURAL DRYING IS PRACTICABLE. 
With favorable weather conditions the seed of nearly all coniferous 
species, except lodgepole pine, can be extracted by the heat of the 
sun. Where this method can be used it gives the best and cheapest, 
though not always the quickest, results. In the southern Rocky 
Mountains it is nearly always practicable because of the clear skies, 
slight precipitation, and drying winds usually prevalent from Oc- 
tober to December. In the central and northern Rockies sun drying 
is possible in normal seasons until about October 20. . Thereafter it 
is uncertain and not to be depended upon as a method of extraction. 
Sun drying is impracticable on the west side of the Cascades in Ore- 
gon and Washington because of frequent rains. It can be used in 
the eastern parts of these States only under particularly favorable 
weather conditions. Sun drying can be used in southern California, 
but in the Sierras its success is doubtful, except in particularly dry 
seasons. In any locality this method may be precluded by an un- 
usually wet fall, or it may be stopped in the midst of the season by 
unfavorable weather. 
EQUIPMENT. 
To extract seed to the best advantage by sun drying the work must 
be thoroughly organized in detail and the necessary equipment must 
