Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-18

ply was limited in the Pittsburg market
owing to the want of space. The market
car that comes into the Chestnut street mar
ket, Allegheny, brought down few trees
and these were eagerly seized by the stout
Eabbling women who haunt the car sales on
the lookout for bargains. The spectacle of
muscular frau stridIng along the street
with a hemlock or spruce tree upon her
shoulder was no unusual one during the
week
Everybody Can Have a Tree.
PittsburG is the first city in the United
States, so far as the keeping up of the old
Christmas observances is concerned In the
midst of the region most thiclIly settled by
the early Dutch, and with q large majority
Of German or German descended inhabi-
tants, the good old customs of the father
land are always kept up. Besides, being
near to the home of the pines, makes the
cost Of evergreens so low that it is nossible
Tor the very poorest to keep Christmas
green.
The New York supply of trees comes
from the Adirondaeks and from the White
Mountains. The Berkshire Hills supplies
many beautiful trees A man who seems to
have monopoly of the coniferous growth
Of that region yearly has headquarters in
New York. This year he has sent out cir
eUlars over the country announcing that he
has 100, 900 trees to dispose of. The local
supply comes mainly IRON Butler, Somer-
set. Forest and Cambria counties Anyone
who has enjoyed ride of 100 or $50 miles
along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad will
not soor forget the wild bills covered with
their rugged growth of pines that for miles
and miles skirt the river Their aromatic
odor is shifted from the car window and is
as eXhilarating as old wine
How the Trees Come In.
Only the most pc rfect trees are selected
by the choppers. When cut down the
br inches are tied fiat against the trunk in
order to reduce the size of the tree for
Shipping. 1t is not easy work, the sharn
needles of the tree cutting the faces and
hands Of the workers and the trunk being
hard to get at with an ak.
The size of the tree is 10 indication of its
age. In the rarihed air of the upper part
OF the mountain and beyond the timber line
the trees are apt to be stuntel. The yery
tallest trees are passed over bv the chop-
pers, those Of less than Is feet being pre-
ferred.
While the majority of the trees are from
the mountains proper, there is a small field
much nearer home. Out in Ross town.
ship and near Perrysville and around Pine
Creek there may be found grove alter grove
Of hemlock& Countrvmen of the neichbor.
h"od ard hucksters bring these to town and
sometimes peddle them from house TO
house. More frequently they take up
stand on the market places
What the Beauties Cost,
It is likely that in the two cities the
sales will reach 10 900. The better class of
trees, Norway spruce, which are nursery
raised and sold by the florists, cost from 81
TO So. The ordinary varieties are the bal
saam fir and the hemlock spruce and sell at
from - cents 10 81 each. The Norway
spruce and FIR will last Tor a couple of
weeks, but the leaves drop off the hemlock
in few days. For a dav or so before
Christmas the sale OF trees will begin at
about o'clock in the morning and continue
until 10 at night In the early morn
ing is the best time to buy as
:he trees are freshly unpacked Walking
through the rows OF trees that cover Hay-
market SqGare one can imagine themselves
trsversing the dark paths of the original
fir wood The torches here and there
flicker weirdly through the dusky branches
and the balsaamic fragrance of the pines
make it a place where it is pleasant to
linger.
In buvirg q tree the experienced pur-
chaser selects one that is straight and COW
cred with stout, even branches A size
not exceeding six feet is most convenient
for home decorations.