Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1910-07-30
TEN TONS OF SEED FOR RESTOR
ING NATIONAL FORESTS

ZEN TONS Of SEED FOR REST TOR
ING NATIONAL FORESTS
Washington, ID. c., July 80, 1910
The U. S. Department of Agriculture
Is using this year on the National
Forests over ten tons of tree seed
Most of this seed has already been
planted or sown. The rest viii be u
tilted later in the season, as favor
able conditions are presented.
1t takes great many tree seeds
to make ten tons. Jack pine, the
most important tree for planting in
the Nebraska sand hills by the for.
est service. will average something
like 10000 to the pound. OF western
yellow pine, the tree most extensive
ly planted throughout the National
Forests as whole, 10000 seed will
make a pound, Altogether the ten
tons of seed to be used this year re-
present perhaps 800 million single
seeds.
II every seed could be depended
on to produce a young tree suitabl,
for planting, the result would be q
supply of nursery stock sufficient tC
pant three hundred thousand acres
of land but no such result can bt
looked for because many seeds dC
not terminate. Most Of the seed will
be sown, either broadcast or in see
spots, or planted with a corn plan
er directly in the place where tn
trees are to stand.
Even when nursery stock is raise
a liberal allowance must be made TO
loss. In the first place, consider
able percentage of the seeds will bC
found to be infertile. OF thos,
Which terminate, many will die be
fore they leave the nursery beds, and
many more will be lost in transplant
ing If from pound Of Western vel
low pine seed that contains 10000
Individual seeds, 1000 three-year-o old
t. ansplants are available for field
planting, the Department of Agrcul-
ture has obtained satisfactory re
suits.
There are now twenty-four Nation.
al Forest nurseries with an annual
capacity of over 8 million
S edlings. But there are many mil
lions of old burns on the National
Forests which are waiting to be re
stocked, and some quicker and cheape
method than the actual planting o.
nursery grown trees Is badly needed
Therefore the foresters are making
experiments on large scale with
different methods Of direct sowing an
planting, and most of the seed gath
cred last year was obtained for thi.
use.
Broadcastng has already been
found to give good results in some re
gions. II was first tried in the Black
Hills of South Dakota, with an en-
couraging outcome. To broadcast al.
acre of land with yellow pine seed
about pounds of seed is used. one
of the most formidable drawbacks
to this method Is the extent e. which
the seed may be consumed by birds
and rodents. If the esason happens
10 be one in which food fNr these an
finals Is scarce, the oss is very hea-
Wy. The problem Of control OF ami
NAL pests such as field mice, ground
squirrels and gophers, which eat the
tree seeds, and also the further prop
lem of preventing the depredation
of rabbits, which are altogether toe
fond of the little trees themselyea
whether nursery transplahts OF Ileld
gown seedlings, is receiving the az
ttntion of the Biological Survey q
perts of the Department Of Agricul
tue.
In some localities the Department
has had to purchase seed but most
CT that used is gathered by Forest
Service men themselves The cost
Of gathering has varied for the dii-
ferent regions from thirty-five cents
10 one dollar a pound As rule
the seed Is collected in the fall
when most conifers rlpen
their seed Parties Of three or four
men ordinarily work together. Whe q
is in progress the collect
ors follow the sawyers and take the
lluao.J,, rrn,n tha fa1IaH tpptc