Caption Quiz is a contest included in Forest Society News, our monthly email newsletter. (To sign up, go to our newsletter signup page.) Some recent photos, questions and answers are included below.

The Question: In this photo, Matt Weber, an employee at the Rock's Estate in Bethlehem, is shearing a 'Rocks Balsam' Christmas Tree. The Rocks is one of the Forest Society's 160 forest reservations, and includes a cut-your-own Christmas tree farm. How many Christmas trees are sheared at the Rocks each summer?

The Answer: Each summer, 48,000 Christmas trees are sheared at The Rocks Estate.

The Question: Even before the first ripe strawberry appears, the haying is underway at Musterfield Farm in North Sutton - site of the Forest Society's 107th Annual Meeting on Sept. 20. In this photo, farm manager Steve Paquin shows how to make hay while the sun shines! How many cuttings of hay do most New Hampshire farms expect annually?

The Answer: Two, sometimes three, cuttings annually.

The Question: Forest Society Vice-President for Land Conservation Paul Doscher is known to be an avid fisherman, but he typically favors a fly rod over the more basic plastic bucket technique. If Paul isn't fishing with the bucket, what is he doing in this picture?

The Answer: Stocking Salmon Fry. As most readers figured out, the photo was related to the lead story about stocking Atlantic Salmon in the Smith River. That story appeared originally in the Concord Monitor,and can be read here: Read more at the Concord Monitor.

The Question: March is sugaring season throughout New Hampshire! Maple sugaring operations range from small, backyard maple producers who gather sap in old-fashioned buckets to large, sophisticated maple orchards with improved no-sag plastic sap lines, vacuum pumps and reverse osmosis in the sugarhouse. Notwithstanding technological improvements, the duration of intermittent sap runs and the sugar content of the sap depend entirely on the weather and factors peculiar to the trees themselves. What is the approximate range of sugar content of sap as it flows from a Sugar Maple tree?

The Answer: 1.5 - 4%. 2% is considered good.

The Question: February is peak of the breeding season for coyotes, foxes and bobcats - apropos for Valentines Day. Even as the late winter snow continues to fall in March, members of the weasel family enter their peak breeding season. Hunting prey along brooks like mink and otter, above and below the snow like ermine and long-tail weasel and even in the forest canopy like fishers, the weasels are renowned for hunting, feared for their ferocity and valued by fur-trappers for their pelts. Which creature is this? What are its common and latin names?

The Answer: Fisher and Martes Pennanti

The Question: Wildlife require food, water, cover and space for winter survival. In January, easy access to unfrozen water under the snow presents a greater challenge than finding food above snow. Hemlocks provide both food and shelter to deer. Deer tracks often lead to flowing streams, like the one above on the recently protected Town Forest in Hebron, or groundwater springs that do not freeze like lakes, ponds and wooded swamps. How many inches of frozen snow is the equivalent of one inch of rain?

The Answer: 10 inches, although this is an average. The ratio of inches of rain to inches of snow can vary widely depending on the moisture content of the snow.

The Question: This year we have already received over 20 inches of snow in Concord, a great start to the winter season for species such as red squirrels who tunnel beneath the snowpack. Name this under-snow environment and two mammals who, along with the red squirrel, can be found living there in New Hampshire.

The Answer: The environment is the subnivean zone. Mice, voles and shrews can also be found living there.

The Question: There are now likely more turkeys living in New Hampshire (28,000 birds in 2004!) than at the time of the first Thanksgiving when Pilgrims first tasted this large game bird that is native only to North America. What do New Hampshire Fish and Game biologists estimate the State’s 2006 turkey population to be?

The Answer: 32,000

The Question: While deciduous trees are more dependent upon higher soil nutrient content in rich soils to replace all their broad leaves lost each autumn, coniferous trees are more frugal and successful on stingy soils. On average, what percentage of its needles does a typical white pine lose in a given year and in how many years are all needles typically replaced?

The Answer: The typical White Pine loses 20% of its needles each year, and take 5 years to replace more or less of all of them.

The Question: The tomato hornworm is fond of feasting on tomato plants and occasionally eggplant, pepper or potatoes. Gardeners usually spot the damage done by the tomato hornworm before finding the culprit. Natural enemies will lay eggs on the hornworm's back, parasitize and kill it before moving on to the next victim. What is the most common type of insect to parasitize the tomato hornworm?

The Answer: The Braconid wasp

The Question: Grasshoppers have many enemies, including various kinds of flies that lay their eggs in or near grasshopper eggs. After the fly eggs hatch, the newborn flies eat the grasshopper eggs, with some flies even laying their eggs on the grasshopper's body. When a grasshopper is threatened, they "spit" a brown liquid as a method of defense, what is this liquid commonly called?

The Answer: Tobacco juice

The Question: Mid- to late-summer means the drying out of woodlands and fields. Dispersing populations of local amphibians—particularly green frogs—will seek refuge in remaining local ponds and wetlands. What is the annual rainfall in New Hampshire?

The Answer: According to Plymouth State University's Center for the Environment, NH's average amount of rainfall averages between 40 to over 60 inches depending on the location in NH, with the yearly average increasing over the last 100 years. There is no one correct answer, but a reasonable average of rainfall in NH is about 45 inches per year.