Show what s h P 0 ul a r t 0 F gme 4 9 4 11 1 04 ika 4 a 3 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HAT Is christmas without a christmas tree not much of a say day every one will agree or the absence of this emblem 0 of f christmas would oud lucan that something very essential to our yuletide celebration bra torr would be linking lacking yet how ninny of us gle give any thought to this very ery necessary part of our christ as eele brution fiew many are used eve eiery ry y rear r w e r e they come from who lio gets them for m 11 9 are there different varieties of evergreens eer ever greens 1 Is t the e cutting of if christmas trees it factor in the lie depletion of our forests fores lignin igi hist st which ve tie me are constantly constanty Y being warned anil tin a dozen doyen other interesting readily come to mind some of those hose questions can be answered briefly lut but others more mole extended As for the number required to till fill our christmas needs ft its Is in tile the neighborhood of six in million lillon trees a annually the trees which and in greatest greate st favor in the east come from nora noa scotia one fourth to one half of tle the trees used anth in the e north slid and east come front from new england Rii gland und and new york while the west draws small aclus clus from minnesota wisconsin tind michigan canada however is is tile largest contributor or of christmas trees and supplies we well llover over half the total quantity used lit in common with other christmas preparations the harvesting of 0 christmas trees begins long before acie shoppers have begun their worrying about gifts most alost of the trees sold in the larger cities are cut in the forest depths and hauled forty or fifty miles to the lie nearest railroad operations must be completed before snowdrifts snow drifts block the forest trails and render them impassable impassible hundreds of men labor tor for almost a month before christmas eve unloading sorting and distributing trees to the millions who wont want them new york alone requires to BOO carion ds of trees annually chicago uses to carloads car londs and lit about tile the same amount other large centers like boston baltimore pittsburgh cleveland and detroit require from to carloads car londs each A car contains about 1800 trees the annual bill for christinas christians trees and other greens such na as holly and mistletoe Is a tremendous one conservatively estimated at least ten million dollars Is spent for the family christmas tree with its attendant holly wreaths and sprays of mistletoe As for the question of the cut of christmas trees depleting our forests let a forestry expert answer as was done ill in a recent issue of the nature magazine by albert A ansen linnsen nn sen thus A question that Is brought up every christmas christinas season ly by the conservative Is the restriction of the lie use of trees in the interest of forest conservation it Is true that Ahat lit in order to meet the alie annual demand somewhere in the neighborhood of six million trees are needed but when the lie facts tire looked nt at in proper perspective spec tive no one need hesitate in celebrating the christmas season by a custom that has been handed lonn from generation to ti since the alie lays days when ahrn our pagan ancestors gathered around file lie blazing yule log in the alie first most of our christmas trees are the result of thinning heavy stands standi of ever greens that are improved hy by this process nature you know Is so lavish that there are practically always more trees present than can an possibly nin matare ture although wise foresters have hare no sympathy with the joy killing and III informed conservationist wha a treeless christmas they fare ire heartily jin in accoro accaro with the file movement to regul site file lie trade to prevent the annual 11 waste represent cd etl by tile wholesale destruction ol of trees to bolster up tip the prices on overstocked over stocked marketa a waste list hint fins ins been estimated during sonie some sed sen sons to reach the appalling total of 21 25 per cent af 0 the entire supply there should be some same way of ascertaining market demands or else of disposing of tile the stir surplus pitts to needy ra families that can III afford to tiny luy their own trees there must be ninny many families without the cheer of f evergreens ever greens and it giuly uly what Is christinas tinas without the decorated decorate tl tree in tle tl e owr efa with tile the lights and gli vining with be 1 ex president and mrs coolidge beside the great living christmas tree around which the community celebration in the national capital centers on ch christmas eve 2 workers tying up bundles of christmas trees which have been cut down in the maine forests to prepare for the coming christmas season 3 even old dobbin has his christmas treel treat mrs M R Slum blumenberg enberg vice president of the tha anim animal I 1 rescue league in washington Is shown with two guests at the annual christmas party and dinner given by the league rib boned presents it Is one of tile the most bountiful beautiful symbols of christendom tind and every home should have one instead of let us have christmas trees otie one for every family let the season that celebrates the birth of him who loved little children bring to ench each house where children dwell tile the decorated tree that menns so BO much in their lives hies As for the different kinds of evergreens ever greens used for christmas trees there are many which cnn ann be obtained for tills purpose but there are several which ore are definite favor favorites lies for tills this important annual role the aristocrats are the firs mainly because of their alne pyramidal shape beautiful deep green color and soft fragrant needles which do riot not shed easily after the tree begins to dry these trees can usually be recognized by the fact that the flattened leaves are arranged ln two rows on the horizontal branches due to tile the twisting of the leaf base eich each needle Is a shiny dark green above and except for the prominent midrib is silvery white underneath i due to the multitude of breathing pores on the under surfaces tile the species of dr available avalin ble vary with the locality but tile the most popular kind offered in the east Is the balsam fir tile the hark bark of which yields the well known canada balsam used in medicines and perfumes in the southern states the fraser eraser fir or she balsam very similar to the northern balsam fir Is common on tile market while on the pacific coast the favorite Is the handsome white or fir a species that frequently graces eastern lawns lawna as tin an ornamental wil competing with the firs for christmas popularity in the east tire are the spruces spruced with their scattered four sided needles that hint seem to point in nil all directions spruces spruced are frequently confused with pines but they are easily distinguished by the tact fact that pine leaves leases always occur in groups of if from two to five while spruce loaves leaves grow singly on oil the big city markets of the eastern sea seaboard boarI the black still and red spruced spruces predominate but these two species to a large extent give ghe way to the alie loss less desirable norway spi spruce bee lit in tie the middle aliddie west the black spruce the wood of which Is used in violin making and tile twigs formerly in spruce beer tins has short thick pate pale baulsh green leaves white while tile the foliage of the lie red spruce Is slender and of a durk dark green or yellowish green cast the firs and spruce comprise the best grades of christmas trees the less expensive kinds are usually pines or hemlock in the vast the white pine with will its needles in bundles of live in tile the south the scrub pine with needles in pairs and in the west tho the well known todge lodgepole pole pine are the principal species much more used for christmas trees it if for no ni other oilier reason than that it la much more wl widely dely distributed and much less valuable as lumber Is I 1 the small scrubby jack pine and its nume numerous rous related species As for the hemlock it Is one of the noblest ol of the evergreens ever greens most of the conifers stand on the edges ani emlson ends of forest lands holding territory terr tor tile the farthest north the highest up the mountains tile deepest into the stomps and ud tings bogs and other mar marginal ginni lands that alint the lie broad brand lii iud nummer forests have no use for fir hut but the hemlock consorts with the finest of tile the tile hie highest liest type of northern forest in the wui id Is the beech aurple hemlock urea area of michigan in europe also where tile the forest Is ii mostly straight glit beech instead ot of hie hem hemlock loch goes with the beech tile alie tannenbaum in of kiteli chich li teli german children sing nt at christmas Is it hein hemlock lock the german Is similar to the english word to inn for the bark of the hemlock Is out one of the best sources of tanning material and indeed was for many henrs tile the thing filing for which the tipe free was chiefly valued tile wood of the hemlock while fairly strong Is rather coarse and brash not comparing with pine or spruce hut bill lit in the evil days that fire are upon us its now with timber growing ever scarcer hemlock Is considered it a rattier valuable lumber tree tile the sirs spruces spruced nud and pines from tile new england forests and tile lie appalachians in the rast east the northern waste lands in tile the central states and tile the mountainous regions of tile pacific hinterland supply the lie bulk of tile the christmas demands hut but there are a number of minor species of considerable that should not be overlooked it is by no means uncommon to it nd ind arborvitae a fa familiar millar ornamental species with flattened scaly foliage offered amiling among the better class of trees and the common red cedar or juniper source of cedar chests fence posts and matches sold among the less ess expensive offerings anither evergreen which Is often used tor for a christmas tree la Is deserving of mention out in the pacific northwest the commonest forest tree Is the douglas fir or douglas spruce botanically the tree la Is a sort of orphan it la Is not really a clr though it resembles it in some respects neither Is it a spruce though it t Is called douglas spruce about as often as it Is called douglas fir lumbermen sometimes sell it as douglas pine though its kinship to the pines Is much more remote than to the firs and spruces spruced even its latin name falls to give it n home for translated into english it means simply false hemlock and the tree Is as far from being a hemlock as itis it Is from being a pine even its latin name Is not good latin rot for pseudo Is greek and tsuga Is 13 japanese ri weird combination indeed rut but though the tree Is hard to place it Is easy enough to tell it apart from its relatives its leaves place it intermediately between slid and fars for tile the needles are somewhat stiff fill and prickly hill but not so much so as those of the spruce it Is tile cones of tile the douglas clr however which really identify it they are unique among cones there Is no confusing thern them with those of any other tree they hang downward as do those ot of the spruce hill but from frola between each two scales genies and projecting electing pr over the next settle scale below it grows a peculiar three pointed app appe endner there Is nn an entirely different class of christ mas inns trees live purchased from nurseries to be planted in tile the open as living reminders of the season of good cheer tills this Is n new and delightful custom caused by high prices the I 1 rapid brilli growth rr illi of tile die attitude toward wild trees and tin nn increasing desire for beautifying home surroundings although wild trees dug out of woods tin and fields may he use used they hey are more difficult to handle less attractive and far more fragile of life than nursery grown plants the latter hitter are usually supplied with a brill ball of earth around around the ron roots ts on which an overcoat of burlap ims his been fitted tile the burlap covered ball 0 f earth may be set into it uh tub or directly on file floor and ali anlap hidden with colored crepe paper when the festivities tire are over tile tree may be maintained in a thriving condition by merely keeping the soil moist uniti until the ali ground has thawed liiv cd out sufficiently to permit the digging of a hole for its reception there Is no need ever even to remove the burlap which soon eoon rots rind Is easily penetrated when root rodt growth Is resul resumed ned in the spring the chances for sm transplanting tire are excel lent and tile the little hide Chrls imas tree free will soon grow to robust proportions with its value constantly coast antly enhanced 11 tho the pleasant me memories morles it inspires und by its e ever er increasing bounty beauty t 0 by W tr Niiva pr |