chap. exm.

coni'fer*. abie'tina:.

2131

species, some containing as many as 300; and the 2010seeds of most species, when allowed to remain inthe cone, preserve their vegetative power for severalyears. The cones are mature, in some species, at theend of the first year, but, in most, not till the end of J

the second autumn. They ought to be gathered a /short time before they are perfectly ripe, in order to /prevent the scales from opening, and the seeds from /dropping out. In the European zlbietinm, the seeds /begin to drop from the cones which remain on thetrees generally in March; for which reason Februaryis a good month to collect them. The cones of -Pinussylvestris, and of the allied sorts, soon open of them-selves, after they have been gathered from the tree, andspread out in the sun; but the cones of P. Pinaster,

P. Pinea, and the allied sorts, though treated in thesame manner, will not open their scales for severalmonths, or even a year. The cones of Cedrus Libaniwill not open till they have been three years or up-wards on the trees; and, when they are gathered, it isalmost always necessary to steep them in water for 24hours, and afterwards to expose them before a fire, or to the sun. In Scot-land, France, and Germany , the seeds of the Pinus sylvestris and of the Parixeuropaf a, are very commonly separated from the cones by kilndrying, andafterwards thrashing them; but, as the heat of the kiln is sometimes carriedto such excess as to destroy the vital principle, it is considered safer to steepthe cones before drying, in which case less fire is requisite; or to split themby inserting an iron triangular-pointed instrument, not unlike a shoemaker’sawl, into the axis of the cone, at its broad end. The cones are also some-times broken by passing them through a bone-mill, or between two cylinders;or by putting them into a bark-mill. The cones of the silver and the balmof Gilead firs, and also of the Pinus iS'trdbus, open of themselves in a dryroom, and give out their seeds with less trouble than those of any otherspecies.

A Kiln for drying the Cones of the Abietinw is described by Sang, as beingconstructed in the manner of a common malt-kiln. The joists or beamswhich support the floor, or surface on which the cones are to be spread,should be about 9 ft. above the hearth on which the fire is placed, and2in. apart. “ A haircloth is spread over them from side to side of thekiln, and the cones are laid on it to the thickness of 12 in. or 14 in. Agentle fire is then applied, and regularly kept up till the cones become opened.During the time of drying the cones must be frequently turned upon the kiln ;and when the seeds begin to drop out, they must be removed to a dry shed,and sifted till all the seeds which are loose fall out, and be taken from amongthe cones. The cones are afterwards to be thrashed severely with flails, ands |fted as before, and so on till the seeds are taken out as completely as pos-sible.” ( Kalendar , p. 326.) Various modes of constructing drying-kilns willbe found given in our Encyclopedia of Cottage, Farm , and Villa Architecture.

The most general Time for sowing the Seeds of the Abietine is in the end°f March, or in April. The ground ought to be in good heart, light, andsandy rather than loamy, and prepared as finely as possible. The seeds™ a y be most conveniently sown in beds; and, after being gently beatendown with the back of a spade or a slight roller, they sffould be covered withnght soil or leaf mould to the depth of a sixteenth, an eighth, or, at most,a quarter, of an inch, according to the size of the seeds, and coveredw,t h branches of trees or shrubs, fronds of fern, wickerwork hurdles, orto shade the soil from the sun, and protect the seeds from birds.■ > indeed, the seeds are gently patted in with the back of the spade, and thee ds kept shaded, and of a uniform gentle moisture, no covering at all is

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