28 BULLETIN" 55, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
FREQUENCY OF SEED YEARS. 
An investigation of the ages of seedlings on several reproduction 
plots in the Adirondacks revealed the fact that of the total number 
counted the per cent of ages from 1 to 11 years was as follows: 
Per cent. 
- 1 year old (1902) 46.1 
2 years old .0 
3 years old 2 
4 years old . ; 1. 2 
5 years old (1898) : 51.1 
6 years old : 1 1 
7 years old 1 
8 years old , 5 
9 years old .2 
10 years old 3 
11 years old 2 
The large representation of seedlings 1 and 5 years old serves to 
indicate an occurrence of plentiful seed years in the Adirondacks at 
intervals of four years. 
Other seed years can not be readily determined by this study, 
since the seedlings after reaching an age of 6 years do not stand the 
dense shade very well, and few survive. In Maine a similar study 
has shown the occurrence of good seed years every other year. In 
one instance the seed years were traced back to 1882, all of them 
occurring in the even years. In New Hampshire good seed years 
were found to occur every third year. 
QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF SEED. 
As determined by the Forest Service, the number of seed per pound 
averages about 36,000; the weight of a thousand seeds, 0.39 ounce 
(12.4 grams); and the germination per cent, from 20 to 30. 
GERMINATION. 
Since the seeds are scattered late in the fall, when frosts have 
already occurred, they lie dormant through the winter and come up 
the next spring. Hardwood leaf Utter, duff, moss, mineral soil, 
rotten logs — all present an equally good germinating bed, if moist. 
Balsam differs from spruce in this respect, requiring more moisture, 
as may be inferred from the fact that spruce seedlings are found m 
drier situations, both on logs and on the ground. A rather dry and 
high log will have plenty of spruce seedlings and very few balsam, 
while a well-rotted moist log will have a great number of balsam 
seedlings. The same is true of stumps. 
The number of seedlings that come up on the acre varies with the 
type of forest. Thus on the hardwood slopes in the Adirondacks, 
