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Show BLVK1NG XMAS TREES F1KEPK00F County residents are nd-jsod nd-jsod fivProof Christmas trees this so:is'i so that firos will not intorfore with holiday joys, ac-fordin. ac-fordin. to County Agent . S. R. Trees can he- made resistant throne" the use of ammonium sulfa- Mr. Roswell said. When jhe treatment is properly applied, ft tree cannot be made to blaze evfn when exposed to a large flame. But a tree that has not absorbed ab-sorbed enough solution may be fire resistant in the sense that it cannot be ignited by a match or m electric spark, and yet may catch fire from a large flame near it. A method for fireproofing trees is described in leaflet No. 193, distributed free upon request by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Agricul-ture. "Christmas trees are a serious seri-ous fire hazard," the bulletin says. "The risk is especially great where a large tree is used at a public gathering place, such as a school or church." "Fresher cut trees do not ignite easily because of the moisture present, but the moisture soon evaporates and the tree becomes dry. When a tree is dry, it catches catch-es fire easily. This is especially true of Christmas trees, because they contain substances that are easily ignited. The Christmas tree can be made practicaly fireproof, however, by replacing the moisture mois-ture with a fire resistant substance." sub-stance." v The bulletin described a method meth-od for making Christmas trees fire resistant as follows: (1) Weigh the tree and divide the weight in pounds of ammonium sulfate needed, (2) Place the ammonium am-monium sulfate in a jar or pail, and dissolve in water using one and one-half pints of water for each pound of ammonium sulphate. sul-phate. A narrow mouthed con- tainer is preferable, (3) Just before be-fore treating, saw off the stem of the tree about an inch from the top, preferably at an oblique angle, or in a V shape, (4) Set the tree in the solution in a' cool place, away from direct sunlight and leave it there until most of the solution is absorbed. For best results, the treatment should be given at a moderate temperature, 55 to 65 deg. F, before the tree is placed in a warm room, because be-cause the solution is not taken up satisfactorily when the atmosphere atmos-phere is warm and dry. |