1912.J Summary of Agricultural Experiments. 865 



may be used also in late autumn, from the middle of October onwards. 

 The laying of the poison or virus should take place preferably in 

 early morning or in the evening, and in fine weather. Rainy weather 

 injures the effectiveness of the materials. 



Forestry. 



Experiments with Scots Pine Seed from Various Sources (Prof. W. 

 Somerville, Quarterly Jour, of Forestry, October, 191 1). — In 1907 Prof. 

 Somerville started a small experiment with Scots pines to test the 

 influence of the latitude and elevation at which the seed was gathered. 

 Samples of 100 seeds gathered in different countries and situations 

 were sown in pots at Oxford on May 10th, and the results examined 

 after intervals of one, three, and twenty-two months from sowing. 

 After being measured and weighed the seedlings were put out in 

 nursery lines and left till they were four years old. In the following 

 table are shown the number of seeds out of each 100 which had 

 germinated a month after sowing, and the number of seedlings sur- 

 viving at four years, with their heights and weights. 



District where Seed was Gathered. 



Percentage 

 Germination 

 after 

 1 month. 



1. Switzerland ... 



2. ,, ... , 



3- „ ••• • 



4. Alsace 



5. East Prussia 



6. Central t ranee . 



7. Southern Sweden. 



8. Northern ,, 



9. Brodie, Scotland . 

 0. Switzerland ... 



5, Goo ft. 

 4,600 ,, 

 i, 2 5o , 



430 ,., 

 Lat. 54 0 

 Lat. 45 0 

 Lat. 57 0 

 Lat. 62° 



100 ft. 

 5,780 „ 

 2,650 ,, 



10 



'5 



70 



69 

 5° 

 55 

 54 

 38 

 1 1 



13 



Seedlings four years old. 



Number. 



4 

 15 

 34 

 29 



17 



15 

 15 

 13 

 2 



Average Weight 

 Height. per 100. 



In. 

 3 2 



7*i 



80 



7'5 

 5'4 

 4-0 

 6-6 



2'5 

 2T> 



Lb. 

 0-93 

 6-66 

 8-55 

 57i 

 2 '94 

 2-50 

 5-62 

 0-84 



0*22 



All died off in the first winter. 



It will be seen that Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 7 gave very much better 

 results than some of the others. The experiment was not designed 

 to show the best sources from which British planters may draw supplies 

 of seed or seedlings, for seed which suits one locality may be quite 

 unsuitable for another. It is clear, however, that the suitability of the 

 origin of seed for planting in any particular locality has an enormous 

 influence upon the fate of silvicultural operations, and that much more 

 information upon the subject is required. 



Dr. Somerville points out that if a landowner, desiring to estab- 

 lish plantations of Scots pine under such conditions as prevail at 

 Oxford, had happened to lay in a stock of the seed which had been 

 gathered at a high elevation in Switzerland, or from a high latitude 

 in Sweden, or from a low elevation in the north-east of Scotland, 

 he would probably have obtained results that must have absolutely 

 prevented success in his operations. 



