Charlevoix county herald., 1911-11-18
Discussion of
Practical Forestry
By J. FRED BAKER, Professor Of Forestry
Michigan Agricultural College.


DVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
(NOTE-In the following series of arti-
cles. discussion of seasonal operations
which every woodlot owner should be
interested in, will be discussed)
Seed Collection.
Every farmer is much interested in
the harvest which is just coming to
close and we hear on every hand
discussions of the crops and yields
in comparison with. other years. How
ever, few realize or have taken no
tice of the fact that this past season
has been one of the best for the pro-
duction of forest tree seeds for some
time past. In Europe, the forest seed
crop is of immense value annually.
We Americans have not realized its
value In this country as yet. How
ever, In the next decade, the crop
produced each year along the fence
lines and in woodlots will be looked
upon as a substantial source OF rev.
enue to its owner. Many woodlot
owners and farmers have recently
become interested in how they can
better their forest conditions in the
woodlot or establish new woodlots.
One of the best ways to do is by col
lecting seeds near at hand, such as,
for instance, acorns and nuts. The
black walnut, butternut, hickory, red
and black oak and Eastwood have all
produced very abundantly this season.
The best time to collect Is after the
first severe frost. The seeds that
fall before the first severe frost as
rule are defective and should not be
gathered. After the first severe frost
they should be gathered and If squir-
rels and rodents are not prevalent.
plant directly in the area desired
This can be done by filling a KNAPP
sack with nuts and going into the
woodlot with spud pacing along the
fence lines, spuding a hole and drop
ping a nut into 1t and then covering
with the heel. 1t is wonderful how
quickly trees planted in this way will
develop into good-sized saplings. These
should be planted In open places In
the woodlot where the grass and
briars have come in A good KNAPP
sack Is made by tNking all ordinary
grain sack, cut 1g down parallel
with the sides, lc1ving two bands
about two inches vide and cutting
out panel about or c-third the length.
Tie the ends of the sack ribbons made
in this way and fling over the shoul-
der.
If rodents and squirrels are a source
of danger, the nuts should be stored
xaint N nf a
forest tree seeds, effort should be
made to mimic nature. If nature pro-
duces seeds and plants at once, the
forester does the same. If nature
allows the seeds to fall and covers
them over winter with a moist coat
ing Of leaves and litter, the forester
does the same and the same with
those seeds which are borne high on
the tips of branches and left to the
climatic action over winter such as
in the case of our sycamore, ash,
honey locust and box elder.
All nuts and acorns nature covers
over winter. The woodlot owner can
collect these seeds, place them in n
box sufficient to contain the amount
box in the soil in well-drained
locality, putting in about two inches
of sand in the bottom, then a layer
of nuts or acorns, then another layer
of sand, then nuts and so on until
the nuts are taken care of and the
box is full See to it that five or six
inches of good sand is left on the sur
~ 10Th
boards over the top. If there is dan
ger of squirrels and chipmunks, a
piece of closely woven wire netting
should be staked over the box large
enough to cover an area four or five
feet larger than the box itself and
this netting should be partially COW
cred with earth. This will protect
the nuts from danger of squirrels and
gophers, as they will not burrow
through the wire. In this way, the
nuts are kept at an even temperature
and even moisture condition and can
be planted out In the woodlot when
desired In the spring. Do not try to
keep seeds Of this class IL the dry
stat" over winter, as they will not
germinate in the spring to any degree
of satisfaction. However, such seeds
as sycamore, ash, box elder, black
locust, honey locust, etc, should be
collected in the fall and hung in bag
on rafters in barns or houses and
kept in a dry condition. These can
be planted the same as other tree
seeds in the spring.