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HOW TO GATHER LOGWOOD SEED. 



By T. H. Sharp. 



February and March are the best months to gather the seed in. 

 Jamaica. 



Fully matured trees should be selected, young trees and old trees 

 avoided. To avoid being deceived carry with you a small sample of the 

 wood you require ; scrape, wet and compare it with the interior of the 

 tree before gathering seed. Bore with an auger or chip with an axe 

 about three feet from the ground until you have obtained a portion of 

 the interior and satisfied yourself that the colour answers the sample 

 you desire. See that the appearance of the seed-pod on the tree is not 

 quite dark-brown, and bone dry ; but is light-brown and half dry: that 

 is to say that the seed-pods are fully matured and just getting dry. 



Clear all weeds from under the tree, spread a large circular calico 

 sheet on the grcund. Climb the tree, or take a long stick with a hook 

 at the end and shake the branches gently. A large quantity of seed 

 will fall, examine it, and you will find a large proportion immature, 

 also insect-eaten, and empty pods, dust, rotten twigs, &c. Gather up 

 the sheet and throw awfiy the whole of the stuff. Spread the sheet 

 again, climb the tree and after selecting the branches that seem to 

 have the bett seed, chop them with a sharp cutlass partially through, so 

 that they bend dowD within a foot or two of the sheet. About one-third 

 of the branches on the tree w ill be found to have good seed and are gene- 

 rally midway up, and if these are lopped half way out to the end no 

 harm will be done to the tree. Then with a coarse glove on your hand, 

 stand on the ground and strip the seed-pods off the branches so that 

 they fall on the sheet. 



Remove ihe seed to some cool, well ventilated place, and spread 

 them out for three or four days so as to avoid fermentation. When 

 they are cured and cool, give them a few hours' sunning. Rub through 

 a sieve and winnow ; then keep the seed in an open tray for two or 

 three days, winnow a second time, put them in dry bottles, shake well, 

 and fill to within an inch of the cork, put in a bit of cotton, then about 

 a teaspoonful of camphor, cork well and seal. 



Seed gathered like this two years ago by me are still in good order. 



Keeping seed in the pod after being gathered facilitates the destruc- 

 tion by insects which harbour in the pods. 



