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Show I Story of the Galax Leaves , Their Use In Floral Decorations I BY JOHN I. COBBS, JR. VI7HEN MILADY lifts her cor-III cor-III sago bouquet from tho box in which It has been deliv-P deliv-P ercd, and exclaims at the wonder of the Obwers of which It is composed, her admiration is for the beauty of the blossoms themselves; seldom docs sho realize that tho effect of the bouquet as a whole Is given by tho sheen of tho bronze-green leaves, which form the background for the 1 delicato blossoms. If tho flowers be violets, tho chances aro that tho heart-shaped heart-shaped leaves against which tho purple pur-ple petals show aro not violet leaves j at all, but those of the galas; and- If : Milady could know the story which I those galax leaves could tell her, sho I would regard them with a new interest inter-est and see thorn not merely as bcau- tiful bronze-colored bits of "green," jj - but as wood sprites whose days havo j been spent in tho heart of tho moun- tains. . . j They would tell Milady of the beauties beau-ties of tho Southern spring; of tho balmy summer days whloh followed; and how with tho first frost their color had changed from a light to a I darker green and had taken on the bronzo tint which they now wear. They would- tell of tho cold winter winds -which swept down the mountain, moun-tain, chilled the fog and covered the upper slopes with rime; of tho child a girl, perhaps of Milady's own age, but whoso clothes wcro thin and worn, whoso body was shrunken and blue with the cold, who had picked these leaves as sho liuddled shivering on the high mountain side, and had thrust them into a coarse sack with thousands of others. They would toll of tho long walk across the ridges to tho log cabin at tho foot of a steep mountain field which tho child called home, a cabin whoso sides wcro chinked with mud and moss, and whoso floor was of hewn logs or puncheons, and whose leaky roof was of hand-riven "shakes." There In the long winter nights by tho light of tho wood flro, tired children sorted the leaves into bundles, while tho wind howled out-sldo out-sldo and drovo tho snow through tho cracks in tho walls of tho cabin. When thousands of these bundles had been I tied they were taken far across the B Galax Gatherers. H mountains to tho little country storo where they were exchanged for needed need-ed clothing, food, or keroscno oil. Hero tho leaves wore packed Into boxes lined with wet moss and wcro hauled to tho railroad to bo shipped to tho florist who had supplied Milady's bouquet. Tomorrow, perhaps, when tho shortlived short-lived violets havo faded, the bouquot, will bo dropped thoughtlessly Into tho trash basket and find its way cvont-ually cvont-ually to tho furnaco or tho garbago wagon. But tho galax loaves will bo fresh to tho end; and should Milady, by any whim, chooso to savo thom and keep them in water, in splto of their long Journey thoy will remain for weeks as soberly gay as they are now, and will bring to Milady's boudoir a breath of tho far away forests and mountains. This durability, coupled with their beautiful bronzc-groen color and their attractive heart shape, has brought galax leaves into wide favor for use in floral decorations, as woll as to furnish fur-nish the "grocn" which sets off tho flowers of Milady's bouquet As a result, in many parts of the Southern Appalachians, whoro tho mountain-eer must miss no chance to augmont his uncertain Income, and particularly in Western North Carolina, whero tho best galax Is said to bo found, hundreds hun-dreds of tho mountain pcoplo havo como to depend largely upon the money from the galax picking to carry them through tho winter months. Tho leaves aro gathered only in tho fall and winter and early spring. During Dur-ing tho late spring and summer they arc soft and easily broken and consequently conse-quently perishable, but for the rest of tho year thoy aro tough and leathery. Tho color changes from green to a deep bronze in tho lato fall or winter and it is then that tho leaves aro most highly prized. Some of the densely shaded leaves do not change tholr color and remain green tho year round. Though tho leaves arc gathered by the women and children, sometimes the whole family takes part In tho work, and the pickers leave their cabins early in tho morning not to roturn until dark. Very often the galax beds aro considerable distances from tho mountaineer's cabin, and after aft-er tho. long walk tho pickers must spend tho day on tho mountain In tho cold. ' Tho leaves arc pulled and not cut, and care Is taken not to break tho stem, since leaves whoso potiolcs are broken soon wilt. Each picker car- : - ... jimnmni ' Galax Leaf. rles a largo cloth sack into which tho leaves aro put as thoy are pulled. To tho ordinary person tho speed with which tho natives pull tho leaves la remarkable. Somo of thom gather as many as 12,000 leaves In a day, while the Inoxporienced novices can hardly pull a thousand. At night and on stormy days tho leaves arc assorted as to size and color and tied Into bunches of 27 leaves each. Forty of theso bunches count as a thousand, tho extra two leaves to each bunch being roqulred by tho dealers to cover any loss from damage, since only porfect specimens are salable. The sorting is done as carefully as possible and takes almost as much tlmo as tho gathoring. In localities whero tho galax is extensively ex-tensively picked tho pcoplo aro extremely ex-tremely careful of flres, because after a forest flro no galax can bo picked for several years. This fact has been of considerable Importance in many places, for the pooplo have prevented and fought forest fires in order to save tho galax from destruction and havo saved the forests from tho damage which fires cause. In thoso forests of tho Southern Appalachians Ap-palachians whoro the Government Is purchasing lands, the galax Industry Is oncouraged because It Is a source of considerable rovenuo to tho mountaineers, moun-taineers, In addition to reducing tho flro hazard. Tho roads and trails which are being built by tho Forest Scrvico will doubtless open up many galax' beds which have hitherto been comparatively lnaccesslblo and will aid the people to market tho leaves much more easily than has been possible in the past. i,r""jM at -. . |