OCR Text |
Show 4 MILLION TREES USED 01 MS f-orest Service Approves Intelligent In-telligent Cutting of Evergreen Ever-green Timber WASHINGTON. Dec. 11. 'Between four and five million Christmas trees ,wlll be felled this year to brighten American homes, churches and community com-munity tenters, and delight the hearts of the children. This is the estimate of the forest service, which says that the total of trees used in this country each pul"tlde season equals approxl-mately approxl-mately the combined consumption f England, Scotland nnd Wales, ami is about 2r per cent greater than that of Germany. Forest service officials are opposed to any movement to discourage the up? of these ticcs for Christmas purposes. pur-poses. To the argument that the cutting cut-ting and use of the trees Is a great musts, they say that the custom Is so old, oo well grounded, and so venerated, vener-ated, tint even if it were economically somewhat Indefensible, these aspects will and should continue to outweigh economic considerations. WASTE is SEN I 1 I NT. Placed all together, the four or flvo millions of trees used annually would make a mighty forest, but forest ser-,vice ser-,vice officers point out that many of them come from fields which are being be-ing cleared for farming purposes or from forests which need thinning to protect the more sturdy trees They jalso argue that trees are for use and that there Is no other use to which 'they could bo put that would contribute contrib-ute so much to the Joy of mankind as their use by children on this one great , holiday. Of the tbtal of Christmas trees consumed con-sumed In this country. 1,500.000 are used In New York state and New England, Eng-land, the forest service says- Black and red spruce are very commonly seen In New England Christmas CI le-bratlons le-bratlons and In ew York and Philadelphia Phila-delphia In Illinois and Ohio the local demand Is supplied partly with nursery nurs-ery grown Norway spruce Pines are ln great demand for Christmas trees when fir and spruce are not available Throughout Maryland, Virginia and In Washington, L. C . the scrub pine flnd a way into many homes. while in southern Wyoming the lodge I ole pine Is almost the only species available. c.KI VI VARJ I I V I M ;d. Hemlock is often used, but only In the absence of other varieties, red cedar, ce-dar, says the forest service, la not despised de-spised whero better trees can not b-had b-had as In tho treesles states and often in Tennessee and Pennsylvania. In California red cedar and Incense cedar are not uncommon The swamps of Michigan. Wisconsin and Minnesota furnish the markets 6f Chicago. St. Paul, Minneapolis and tho cities of the plains states, while Maine New Hampshire, Vermont, the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts and the Adiron-ducks Adiron-ducks and Catskllls in New York are the sources of supply for New York. Philadelphia and Boston and even Baltimore and Washington. Christmas trees, the forest service says, vary in size from 5 to 3 3 feet aud prices run form 25 cents to $35 or $50. Where the 25 cent trees are available Is not stated. |