Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-07-30
UNCLE SAM HAS Bio TASK IN
RESTOCKING NATIONAL
FORESTS.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
IN CHARGE OF WORK
Forestry Nurseries to Number Of
Twenty Eight Produce Eight Million
Seedlings Annually - Portions of
Work Tedious and Rather Difficult
Men Climb Tall Pines For Cones.
Special to Times-Republican

Special to Times-Republican.
Washington, July 29.-The United
States depa rtment 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 will be utilized later
in the season, as favorable conditions
ARE presented
1t takes a great many tree seeds to
make ten tons. Jack pine, the most
important tree for planting in the Ne
bra ska sand hills by the forest service,
will average something like $4,000 to
the pound. OF western yellow pine,
the tree most extensively planted thru
out the national forests as whole,
10, 900 seed will make a pound. Alto
gether the ten tons of seed to be used
this year represent perhaps 300 million
single seeds.
If every seed could be depended on
to produce a young tree suitable for
planting, the result would be a supply
Of nursery stock sufficient to plant
100000 acres of land, but no such re-
suit can be looked for because many
seeds do not terminate. Most of the
seed will be sown, either broadcast or
in seed spots, or planted with corn
planter. directly in the place where
the trees are to stand.
Liberal Allowance for Loss.
Even when nursery stock is raised a
liberal allowance must be made for
loss. In the first place. a considerable
percentage OF the seeds will be found
TO be infertile. OF those which germ
mate. NAV will die before they leave
the nursery beds. and many more will
be lost in transplanting. If from a
pound Of seed of western yellow pine
seed that contains 10000 individual
seeds. 1000 3-year-old transplants are
available for field planting. the de-
partn1ent Of agriculture has obtained
satisfactory results.
There are now twenty-five national
forests nurseries with an annual pro-
ductive capacity Of over 100000 seed
lings. But there are many millions Of
old burns on the national forests which
are waiting to be restocked, and some
quicker and cheaper method than the
actual planting Of nursery-grow trees
Is urgently needed Therefore the for
esters are making experiments on a
large scale with different methods OF
direct sowing and planting. and most
Of the seed gathered last year was OBJ
tanned for this use.
Different Methods Of Sowing
Rroadcasting has already been found
to give good results in some regions
II was first tried in the Black Hills OF
South Dakota, with an encouraging
outcome. TO broadcast an acre Of land
with yellow pine seed about eight
pounds of seed Is used. One of the
most formidable drawbacks to this
method is the extent to which the seed
may be consumed by birds and rodents
II the season happens to be one In
which food for these animals is scarce,
the loss is very heavy. The problem OF
control of animal pests, such as field
mice. ground squirrels. and gophers
which eat the tree seeds. and also the
further problem Of preventing the de-
predations of rabbits, which are alto
gether too fond of the little trees them
selves, whether nursery transplants or
field-grown seedlings, is receiving the
attention of the biological survey ex-
perts of the department Of agriculture
In some local. ties the departm ent has
had to purchase seed. but most OF that
used is gathered by forest service men
themselves The cost of gathering has
varied for the different regions from
s5 cents to 81 a pound AS a rule the
seed is collected in the fall months
when most conifers ripen their seed
Parties of three or four men ordinarily
work together. Where numbering is in
progress the collectors follow the saw
yers and take the cones directly from
the felled trees. In standing timber
the task is much more arduous. The
men must often climb tall pines and
pull the cones from the branches as
best they can. Where these are on the
extremities and beyond the reach OF
the hand, pruning shears are used. The
cones are dropped 70 the ground and
then gathered into buckets and trans
ferred to sacks, in which they are car
rted to a central point for further
treatment
A Tedious Task.
The extraction Of the seeds Is tedious
rather than difficult In some cases
the cones are spread out upon sheets In
the sun, when, after a time, they open
and the seeds drop out; in other cases 1t
is necessary to resort to artificial heat
This is applied by placing the cones
upon trays with screen bottoms and
raising the temperature Of the room
to the proper degree. The cones open
the winged seeds fall out, and the seed
is separated finally from the wings and
dirt by a tanning mill. A good many
seeds have been removed from the cone
by hand, but this is a sore trial to the
fingers of the pickers and an exceed
ingly slow process.