family were planted as single tree plots at random throughout the plantation. Growth 

 during the 5-year period from 1973 to 1975 and height in 1976 have been measured. 



5. Vigor-quality study . --This is the oldest of the five studies. It was started 

 during the early stages of the program to produce blister rust resistant western white 

 pine (Squillace and Bingham 1954). Excess seed from the program was used for this study 

 to investigate the heritability of growth and quality traits. The parents of many of 

 the seedlings grow in the Crystal Creek drainage near Fernwood, Idaho, at an elevation 

 of about 870 m (fig. 1). A few others grow at three additional low sites within 45 km. 

 Four candidates from the White Rock area at an elevation of 1,525 m near Clarkia, Idaho, 

 were also included. Squillace and Bingham's (1958) report of "localized ecotypic varia- 

 tion in western white pine" was based on other seedlings of many of these same families. 



Seedlings (2-1) for the 1955 outplantings were grown in a nursery in Missoula, Mont. 

 All the others were grown in Spokane, Wash. The seedlings were not measured in the 

 nurseries. 



Three plantations were installed during the years from 1955 through 1959. Data 

 from the 1955, 1956, and 1957 plantings at PREF and Deception Creek Experimental Forest 

 (DCEF) are included in this report. The PREF plantation is located on a moderate (10- 

 25 percent) north to northwest-facing slope at an elevation of 790 m. The DCEF planta- 

 tion is on a steep (30-50 percent) north-facing slope at 1,110 m (fig. 1). Seedlings 

 (mostly 2-1 transplants) were planted at a spacing of 2.4 m in 8-tree row plots in three 

 replications at each site. Competition from native vegetation has been reduced by weed- 

 ing and brush cutting at irregular intervals. The trees have been measured several 

 times--most recently when all had been in the field for 16 years. 



RESULTS 



Elevational study. --The most striking feature of the nursery results is the general 

 lack of patterns in the variation observed (table 1) . Although the amount of variation 

 present was large, much of it was related to differences among the offspring of a single 

 tree or among the trees within a stand. This may be seen in the proportion of variance 

 attributable to the various sources and the common significance of the "trees within 

 stands" mean squares (table 2 and Appendix table 15) . Because of the magnitude of the 

 within-stand variation, the differences among stands, elevational zones, or geographic 

 areas were seldom statistically significant. 



Seed weight did not differ significantly from one area to another and only within 

 the Clearwater drainage were there significant differences among elevational zones. 

 There, seed from the higher elevation trees was lighter than that from the lower trees, 

 with a rather consistent gradation between. 



Seeds from the Trestle Creek area germinated sooner than those from other areas, 

 but there was no pattern to the variation within areas. Whether the germination dif- 

 ferences are inherent or were related to cone collection time or subsequent handling is 

 unknown. Time of germination was closely related to first-year seedling height and 

 some of the effect was still detectable at the end of the third year. All data for 

 seedlings germinating more than 21 days after the start of germination were excluded 

 from these and the following analyses. 



5 



