The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-08-03
TONS OF TREE SEEDS
,,,ENT USING THEM FOR
roCKTNG ITS FORESTS.
r.nds and Quantities of Each
Are Being Used. How
u rbsr Were Obtained.

#Tbat Are beiS
Tbsy Were Obtained.
JUNCTION, D. C.-The United
department of agriculture is
.bis year on the national for
over ten tons of tree seed. Most
:. seed has already been planted
nrn. The rest will be utilized
IN the season, as favorable con-
.ons are presented.
toRes a great many tree seeds
,oro ten tons. Jack pine, the
;rnortant tree for planting in
Nebraska sand hills by the for
Twice. will average something
,o7 o0O to the pound, Of west
-IIow pine, the tree most ex-
,.oiy planted throughout the
yC wei forests as a whole, 10000
i o n,iil make a pound. Altogether
w. IONS of seed to be used this
'S rsnresent perhaps 800 million
oyorv seed could be depended
,roduce a young tree suitable
r,an+ing the result would be
,Ir of nursery stock sufficient to
~ three hundred thousand acres
pond but no such result can be
Iod for because many seeds do
i Gorn,inate. Most of the seed will
lawn either broadcast or in seed
: or planted with a corn-planter,
EctIv in the place where the trees
to stand.
han when nursery stock is raised
\ ,orol allowance must be made for
1 In the first place, a considera-
norcentage of the seeds will be
Ia IN he infertile. OF those which
inmate many will die before they
70 the nursery beds, and many
"a will be lost in transplanting.
sfrom pound of western yellow
seed that contains 10000 in
kdna1 seeds 1000 three-year-old
.nsnIants are available for field
snting the department of agricul-
II has obtained satisfactory re-
IS.
STbera are now twenty-four ma
Ii forest nurseries with an an
II productive capacity of over 8
huon seedlings. But there are
snv millions of old burns on the
iopal forests which are waiting
he restocked. and some quicker
/ cheaper method than the actual
hitting of nursery-grown trees is
kentlv needed. Therefore the for
|ers are making experiments on a
sge scale with different methods of
sect sowing and planting, and most
the seed gathered last year was
4 ained for this use.
Broadcasting has already been
! nd to give good results in some
hons. 1t was first tried in the
! lex Hills of South Dakota, with
encouraging outcome. To broad
L an acre of land with yellow pine
IA about s pounds of seed is used.
L of the most formidable draw
lks to this method is the extent
which the seed may be consumed
I birds and rodents. If the season
"Opens to be one in which food for
Use animals is scarce the loss is
~ heavy. The problem of control
animal pests, such as field mice,
pund squirrels and gophers, which
the tree seeds, and also the fur
pr problem of preventing the, de-
edatiOns of rabbits, which are al
Bether too fond of the little trees
emselves, whether nursery trans
lnts or field-grown seedlings. is re-
wing the attention of the biologi-
survey experts of the department
agriculture.
I'm some localities the department
5 had to purchase seed, but most
that used is gathered by forest
fWce men themselves. The cost
gathering has varied for the diff
rent regions from thirty-five cents
one dollar a pound. AS a rule
E seed is collected in the fall
Dnths, when most conifers ripen
cir seed. Parties of three or four
en- ordinarily work together.
mere numbering is in progress the
lectors follow the sawyers and
ke the cones directly from the
led trees. In standing timber the
SIX Is much more arduous. The
IN must often climb the tall pines
d pull the cones from the branches
pest they can. Where these are
tne eXtremities and beyond the
1ch OF the hand pruning shears
used. The cones are dropped to
ground and then gathered into
cKetS and transferred to sacks, in
!lCn tney are carried to a central
-mI LOT further treatment.
Inc extraction of the. seeds is tedi-
) TaJner than difficult. In some
seS me cones are spread out upon
seOS IN the sun, when, after a
4 ne lney open and the seed drop
T., III other cases it is necessary
n ig9ofL TO artificial heat. This is
pneu by placing the cones upon
AVS with screen bottoms and rails