1908.] Influence of the Character of Seed. 



125 



In an address to the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, 

 Dr. Somerville drew attention to experiments made in Austria 



and Switzerland to test the influence of 

 Influence of elevation on seed of the spruce and 

 the Character of larch. In the case of the Swiss experi- 

 Seed on the ments, an examination of the seed 

 Growth of Trees. procured from trees of approximately 



equal age situated at different elevations 

 showed that there was a gradual, though by no means regular, 

 reduction in size according as it was obtained from low or 

 high elevations ; for instance, it was found that 1,000 seeds 

 usually weighed more than 6 grammes when obtained from 

 an altitude under 3,000 feet, and less than 6 grammes when 

 the altitude was 3,000 to 6,000 feet. The percentage ger- 

 mination followed the same order, being 70 to 80 for 

 lower altitudes, and 50 to 60 for higher altitudes. It 

 was also clearly shown that there was a relationship 

 between the rate of growth of the seedlings and the 

 elevation at which the seed was gathered. As is well known, 

 above a certain altitude the growth of trees in height is affected 

 and at the upper levels the trees became more or less stunted. 

 These experiments showed that this reduction in the stature 

 of trees is a character that is inherited, for example plants 

 from seed gathered at a height of 1,800 feet were 18 inches 

 high after 5 years, while seed obtained from levels between 

 5,000 and 6,000 feet only produced plants 9-10 inches high. 

 Similar results were obtained in Austria, where spruce gathered 

 and sown at an altitude of 1,700 feet attained a height of 

 53 inches after 15 years, while seed sown in the same nursery 

 but gathered at a height of 5,200 feet only gave plants 30 inches 

 high. The height-growth in 1905 was also smaller, so that 

 fifteen years after sowing the seed the slower growth of plants 

 from seed harvested at a high altitude was still conspicuous, 

 and it seems probable that this characteristic will be main- 

 tained throughout the life of the tree. A number of other 

 trials were made besides those mentioned, and also some with 

 larch and sycamore, which confirm the conclusion as to the 

 transmission of the tendency to slower growth. The converse 

 is also true, for seed from low elevations produced plants that 

 throve badly at high altitudes. For use at high altitudes, seed 



