New-York tribune., 1879-12-23
CHRISTMAS GREEN.
THE GENEsIs on AN INpusrRY.

A MONMOUTH COUNTY MONOPOLY OAiF Hing
ABOUT THE RAW MAr.RfAL-cHRI-TnAs TRi,Es.
AND WHERE THEY GRUw-i POSSIBLE COR
NER" IN BALsAn FRS.
As nearly rs can be ascertaincd the earlist bnsi-
ness venture in Christmas green for the Ncw-Yolk
market was made about forty years ago by Z Mon
mouth Comfy Tna tron. who gathered enough Of the
beautiful little club moss. known Sew-Jersey
Ground Pine tTycopodmm dendroiiiumi tn hlI a
sheet tied together by the four corners loaded il
a sloop at Keyport with her pork and poultry. and
set SAIL tor the city. How the industry began
so humble way, has developed and prospered. can
be understood when il is known that the grandson
Of this good woman sold last year $1,000 yards of
rope" (which is the trade name fOr the various
kinds of manufactured greeBcry used for festoonng
and twning about evlamns) and viii sell even more
this year. while there individual Wholesale
dealers who viii handle as many as 125.000
yards.
The man supply Of rope and fancy green
still comes from Keyport Every morning for a
week or more the steamboat Matteawan mas been
crowded with coils of rvpe and great stacks Of
crosses and wreaths and stars and tIiangles. On
Friday this single boat carried $4,000 yards of fes-
tOOnng and over 1000 dozen of wrcaths and the
like Taking the whole season through, the New
York market viii receive enough of this Christmas
"roper TO stretch from the Battery to Albany and
half way back again.
It Is noteworthy that while the manufacture of
this decorative sreenery is still confined mainly to
a small district of New-Jersey the great bulk Of the
raw material comes from distance. The Ground
Pine which looks like miniature bemlock tree.
long ago nearly exterminated from the New
Jersey woods and the same is true of another club
moss known as Creeping Vine lLycopOdIum compla-
natum- Immense quantities of these mosses are
now collected in Connecticut. Massachusetts and
Northern New-Tork, and shipped to Monmouth
County. where the young men and naidens make
frOlIcT and tie it into cables for the market.
The wreaths and stars most IN favor are made Of
the Sharpspired and glossy leaves of the American
Holly. which are scarcely inferior to the '' armed
and vanished leaves Of the European holly which
John Evelyn celebrated more than two centuries
ago. Besides the holly, great variety of material
is used IN the construction of these formal 4" de-
signs" Twigs Of rhododendron. lockwood, kalmia
or mountain laurel. bemlock, and eedar with Its
persistent blue-berTies: myrtle and Dipsissema or
princes pine co oTed grasses the bright red berries
of the black alder and the orange and scarlet pods
of the bIrtersweet-all these. with rhe long flowing
moss which hangs on the Sandy Hook eedars. the
crisp tangles of gray which grows the OPEN
ings Of the Pine Barrens. and the tufts of brown
and dark green moss found on the north side of
old oaks are arranged into rsgulatve shapes, some
times Win cOnsiAcrabic TASTE ana oltel ~ must DC
admitted with very little.
The prices which these festa w-eaths and cables
command are very low when sold by the quantity.
but as the work is done by Ehe f8mers' wives and
dau1hters after coru-husking" and at season
when heir Is little else to do the revenue from
these sales is mostly profit and altogether Christ
mas green furnishes good many suits Of Sunday
clothes and new bonncts 10 worthy people whose
labOrs help 70 brighten the holiday season IN the
city.
OF Christmas trees proper about lis. 900 have
been delivered the city during the past fortnight
OF this number about 43. 900 came from Maine and
rather more than 90, 600 from the CatsklI region.
small lots came from Long Island. ScnOnaTe County
and Pennsylvania. BY far the greater proportion
of these are balsam trs. although there are a few
black spruces among them. OF course the growth
OF n great many acres must be cut TO harvest so
large a CROP and the destruction OF so much thrifty
wood in a country where the forests are disappear
ing all too rapidly naturally pang OF regret
Bn the sentimental tears which feels inclined 20
shed over this devastation viii hardly hOw when 1t
is remembered that the American 1r - one OF the
most worthless of trees and that its beauty fades
at a very early These cOnfers usually spring
up in great numbers as a second grow th on high
ground aud rather ll2ht sOi after forest OF hard
wood has been cleared. Only symmetrical and
stOckY trees selected, and If cut lew feet rom
the ground one or more aspiring side branches viii
shoot upward as leaders and IN their turn be sit-
able for decorating church AZ distant Christmas
Even the trunks severed at the base. ings
Will epFlu0 UD 10 III lNt IutH Nuu- ElNFh ~ tudA
the area can be cut over several times before
the stock ~ quite extsrninated.
THIS year the trees from the State which Mr.
Alonzo GarcelOn imagines tnat he has successfully
stolen are bringing rather better pnces than any
Others. This may De owing TO the fact that rhe
Maine dealers have been more careful TO select only
choice specimens or II may be that the shrewd Yam
KEGS who have been long in the business more
thoroughly acquainted with the market and their
customers The stock is already low, and If the re-
tailers continue to make brisk sales there Will prob
ably be a rush Of buyers on to-day and tomorrow
and the Eastern will be supplied with an Op-
portnnIty TO bull the market. II would be a merry
CHRISTMAS for these enterprising wOOdsmen II they
could IN this way secure a comfortable slice Of the
general revival of business Certainly they deserve
il as much as any other class.
CONTEST OTERA CEKETERFLOE