You might remember that last year I started a correspondence about my
idea that alders might be a possible grain crop.

My ideas and experience have moved on.

The cones break open around the middle and the breaks spread to the
ends over the winter. But the seeds are already ripe when the cones
start to open.

I would also like the seeds to be bigger. But that is not the greatest
need.

I now see that the greatest difficulty is that the cones are too
tough. You can't smash the cones and get the seeds out!

There should be fragile cones - it's a defect!

So I am asking anybody who knows of alders with fragile cone to let me
know or send me specimens.

Michael Bell

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