INCENSE CEDAR. 35 
ARTIFICIAL FORESTATION. 
SEED COLLECTING. 
GATHERING THE SEED. 
The seed of incense cedar matures usually during the latter part 
of September or the first three weeks of October. The ripe cones 
may be gathered from the trees and the seed extracted later, or by 
spreading canvas or blankets beneath the trees and vigorously thrash- 
ing the branches the seed may be collected direct. 
EXTRACTING AND CLEANING SEED. 
Where the cones have been collected from the trees it is necessary 
to extract the seed artificially. This is usually done by spreading the 
cones on canvas or blankets in the sun until they open, which requires 
about three days, and then thrashing out the seed by hand. In stormy 
weather a drying house and artificial heat are necessary. 
It is desirable to remove the wings from the seed, so far as is pos- 
sible, and this may be accomplished in a measure by rubbing them 
vigorously between the hands, thus breaking off the greater portion 
of the wing. As a rule, however, this is not done, the seed simply 
being separated from the chaff and light nonfertile seed by means 
of a fanning mill fitted with screens of the proper mesh, or by pouring 
the seed from one box to another in a current of air. 
YIELD AND COST OF SEED COLLECTION. 
Incense cedar seed is quoted by various seed dealers on the Pacific 
coast at from $1.65 to $4 a pound, and seed collected by the Forest 
Service in the past has cost from $1.50 to $2.25 a pound, according 
to the conditions under which the collecting was done. As to the 
yield to be expected, experience has shown that on the average from 
2 to 3 pounds of clean seed can be secured from a bushel of cones, 
while the number of seed per pound averages about 16,000. 
STORAGE. 
Seed of this species keeps best if placed in bags and stored in a 
cool, dry, well-ventilated place. Since it is very apt to mold if large 
quantities are kept in one bag with insufficient ventilation, the bags 
should not be too large and they should be hung up rather than piled 
in a compact heap, a precaution which also guards against the depre- 
dations of rodents. 
NURSERY PRACTICE. 
Owing to its relatively low germination per cent (from 20 to 40), 
it is necessary to sow incense cedar seed comparatively heavily. On 
