NOTES FROM A TRIP TO THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES JANUARY, 1953

The authors attended the second southern Conference of forest tree improvement in Atlanta, Ga., early in 1953. They visited parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts before and after this Conference and made observations on the distribution, ecological amplitude and appearance of several tree species within the unglaciated parts of their present range. The aim of this was a preliminary evaluation of the materials found, for direct use in forest planting in Canada and for breeding purposes, to enrich the genetic composition of the respective species in Canada and make them more suitable for various uses in forestry. Collections of seeds and scions for strain tests and breeding projects were made. Observations of this kind are presented for red spruce, white pine, the two native aspens, red pine, Norway spruce, Japanese red and Japanese black pine, and other tree species. The value of such observations and of collections of breeding materials is pointed out and the application of the possible results to forest tree breeding problems in Canada is discussed.