The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1910-09-16
TEN TONS OF SEED FOR RE
STOCKING NATIONAL FORESTS

Washington, Sept. 3.-The u.
Department Of Agriculture is usinI
this year on the National Forest
oyer ten tons Of tree seed. Most o
this seed has already been plantet
or sown. The rest will be utilized
later in the season, as favorable con
ditions are presented.
1t takes a great many tree seeds Il
make ten tons. Jack pine, the mos
important tree for planting in the
Nebraska sand hills by the Forest
Service, will average something like
$4,000 to the pound. OF Western
yellow pine, the tree most extensively
planted throughout the National For
ests as whole, 10000 seed will
make pound. Altogether the ten
tons of seed to be used this year
represent perhaps 800 million single
seeds.
| If every seed could be depended
on to produce young tree suitable
| for planting, the result would be a
supply of nursery stock sufficient to
plant three hundred thousand acres
OF land, but no such result 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 a corn planter,
directly in the place where the trees
are to stand.
Even when nursery stock is raised
a liberal allowance must be made for
loss. In the first place, consider
able percentage of the seeds, will be
found to be infertile. OF those which
terminate, many will die before they
leave the nursery beds, and many
more will be lost in transplanting.
If from pound of Western yellow
pine seed that contains 10000 indi-
vidual seeds, 1000 three-year-old
transplants are available for field
planting, the Department of Agricul-
ture has obtained satisfactory re-
suits.
There are now twenty-four Nation
al, Forest nurseries with an annual
productive capacity of over million
seedlings. But there are many mil
lions of old burns on the National
Forests which are waiting to be re-
stocked, and some quicker and cheap
er method than the actual planting
of nursery-grown trees is urgently
needed. Therefore the foresters are
making experiments on large scale
with different methods of direct SOW
ing and planting, and most of the
seed gathered last year was. obtained
for this use.
Broadcasting has already been
found to give good results in some
regions. 1t 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 8 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. If the season happens
20 be one in which food for these
animals is scarce, the loss is veryj,
1eavy. The problem of control of
lnimal pests, such as field mice,
ground squirrels, and gophers, which
'at the tree seeds, and also the fur
her problem of preventing the depre-
lations of rabbits, which are altoge-
her too fond If the little trees them
elves. whether nursery transplants
IF field grown seedlings, is receiving
he attention Of the Biological Survey
xperts Of the Department of Agricul- !
ure. ID
In some localities the Department \
as had to purchase seed, but most /.
t that used is gathered by Forest
ervice men themselves. The cost
gathering has varied for the differ
Mt regions from thirty-five cents to
ne dollar a pound. AS rule the
led is collected in the fall months, !
hen most conifers ripen their seed n
arties of three or four men ordin-
rily work together. Where lumber \
lg is in progress the collectors fol- h
w the sawyers and take the cones \.
rectly from the failed trees. In u
anding timber, the task is much
ore arduous. The men must often
limb tall pines and pull the cones
ON the branches as best they can.
here these are on the extremities F.
I'd beyond the reach of the hand, ST
uning shears are used. The cones of
e dropped to the ground and then
thered into buckets and transferred =,
sacks, in which they are carried w
a central point for further treat "a
ant. ~