No. 79 

1958 

REPORT ON FOREST TREE SEED CROP 

IN NEW ENGLAND IN 1957 

Forest tree seed crops were generally poor in 1957 

throughout New England, according to reports by observers. l 

Late spring frosts and below-normal precipitation were probably responsible for poor or failing crops of some species. 

In general, most conifers produced light to failing 

seed crops (table 1). However, there were some exceptions. 

Rhode Island reported a medium crop of white pine. Norway 

spruce produced a medium crop in western Massachusetts and 

in parts of Maine and Connecticut. Northern New Hampshire ' 

had a heavy crop of hemlock and northern white-cedar. 

Several hardwood species produced betterseedcrops in 

some areas than the conifers. Heavy crops af American elm 

were reported from southern Vermont and northwestern Massachusetts. Black cherry seed production was heavy in southern 

Vermont and New Hampshire. Both white and gray birch bore 

heavy crops in northwestern Vermont. White and yellow birches produced medium crops in northern New Hampshire and 

northeastern Connecticut. 

Red oak produced a medium crop of acorns in southern 

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and parts of Maine and Connecticut. The white oak acorn crop was also medium in southern New Hampshire, southeastern Massachusetts, and southeastern Connecticut. Medium crops of scarlet oak and swamp 

white oak were produced in southeastern Massachusetts. The 

poplars produced medium seed crops in western Massachusetts 

and northwestern Connecticut. 

'~ased on 37 reports distributed as follows: Maine 

13,New Hampshire 6, Vermont 7, Massachusetts 6, Rhode Island 

1, Connecticut 4. State service (farm) foresters, forestry 

school faculty members, industrial foresters, and U.S. Forest Service personnel cooperated in supplying this information. The project was initiated by the Committee on Silviculture, New England Section, Society of American Foresters. 
Table 1.--Forest tree seed crops in New En~land, 1957 

'seed crops are classified as follows: 

F = Failure: none, or few seeds on occasional trees. 

VL = Very Light: few seeds on 25% of the trees. 

L = Light: few seeds on 75% of the trees. 

M = Medium: some seeds on all trees, many seeds on some trees (up to 75%). 

H = Heavy: some seeds on all trees, many seeds on most trees (over 75%)- 

A heavy set of first-year white pine cones was reported from northern Rhode Island, Massachusetts, northwestern Vermont, and central Maine. Heavy crops of flower 

buds were noted on balsam fir in Maine. On this basis, both 

species may produce good seed crops in 1958. 

--A. C. HART, Research Forester 

Penobscot Research Center 

Northeastern Forest Experiment Station 

Forest Service, U.S. Dept . Agriculture 

Bangor, Maine 

I 

AGRICULTURE-FOREST SERVICE-UPPER DARBY 

Species 

White pine F-VL F-L F-VL F-VL F-L M 

Red pine F-L F-VL F-VL F-VL VL-L -- Scots pine VL VL F - - VL -- 

White spruce F-L F-VL F -- L-M -- Red spruce F-VL F-M F-L -- VL - - Black spruce F VL VL - - -- -- Norway spruce VL-M VL F M L-M -- 

Balsam fir F-L F-L F-L -- - - -- Hemlock F-M F-H F-M L VL-L - - Tamarack F-L VL F - - VL - - Northern white-cedar F-L F-H F-M -- - - - - Atlantic white-cedar -- - - - - -- VL - - Eastern redcedar - - - - - - - - VL - - 

Red maple VL-L VL F-L M VL-M - - Sugar maple VL-H F-VL F-M F F -- Black birch -- VL VL L L-M -- Yellow birch VL-L F-M F-M L L-M - - White birch VL-L F-M H VL VL - - Gray birch M-H VL F-H -- - - - - 

Red oak L-M L-M VL M L-M - - Scarlet oak - - -- VL M - - -- White oak - - M - - M-8 VL-M - - Swamp white oak - - - - - - M - - - - Black oak - - -- - - -- V'L-L -- Chestnut oak - - - - - - - - n -- 

Basswood L F -- L L - - Beech F F-VL F - - n -- White ash - - F-VL F-M -- F-M - - Trembling aspen - - F-L -- M L - - Bigtooth aspen - - L -- M L -- Eastern cottonwood -- - - - - M M - - Black locust -- - - - - M VL -- Black cherry - - H F-H -- VL - - Elm - - VL-L H H -- - - Yellow-poplar - - - - - - - - F -L - - Shagbark hickory -- F - - - - VL-L - - Butternut -- - - - - F - - - - 

Seed crop classif icationl 

Maine N.H. Vt. Mass. Conn.