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SAVING THE SEEDS OF TREES. 



As the preservation of the seed of trees is an ob- 

 ject of some importance, where a nursery is kept, and 

 attended, in certain cases, with considerable difficul- 

 ty, it may not be improper to give a sketch of the 

 way in which professional seed-gatherers conduct the 

 business. 



The trees whose seeds give the most trouble are 

 the fir tribes, especially the larch, the cones of which 

 require the application of a high degree of heat, as 

 well as much laborious percussion, before they will 

 allow the seeds to escape. 



The time for gathering the cones of the larch is 

 during the winter months. This part of the process 

 is easy, and consists merely in plucking them from 

 the trees. It is proper, however, to select the finest 

 and most thriving trees for this purpose, to prevent, 

 as far as possible, any chance of the species degene- 

 rating. The larch begins to bear cones very young, 

 and its seed is said then to grow more certainly than 

 when the tree is aged. As the gathering proceeds, 

 the cones should be laid somewhere out of the reach 

 of wet, which, if admitted to them, will tend to 

 make the process of taking out the seed more tedious. 



