PeLEeC | (ORCHARD GROWN) 
MANINGSEED 
N 
Ae is the only great industry that 
has done little or nothing to improve its wild stock under management; practically 
nothing has been done to improve Douglas fir and other important western species.”’ 
Forest geneticists have demonstrated that a collection of superior parents 
(known as “‘plus” trees), selected on the basis of superiority of diameter and height 
growth as compared with the surrounding trees, and also on the basis of having 
the most acceptable type of branching or crown, can produce progeny that are 
superior to any stand found in nature. 
Using this principle, the production of Select (Orchard Grown) Maningseed 
has been started. Scions from carefully selected “plus” trees are being assembled 
at Research Acres—Manning Seed Company’s tree seed orchard, and seed from 
these parents will soon be placed on the open market. 
The theory underlying forest tree seed orchards is simple enough. It is merely 
that, in the long run, the best plants will be obtained by mating the best parents 
available. While it is true that in certain exceptional forest stands, good parents may 
stand within pollinating range of each other, it is also true that such stands contain 
some average and poorer than average trees. Thus, seed collected only from the best 
parents in natural stands is likely to result in part, at least, from pollination by 
average and poorer than average trees. Such a situation can be partially remedied by 
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