The morning times., 1895-12-08
CHRISTMAS TREE STYLES
Fashion Dictates on What Wood
Presents Are Hung.
BALSAM IS NOW TRt RAGE
Where the Supply OF Santa
Claus Auxiliaries Comes
From for the Cities.

The Christmas tree man is g. mJ5terious
as Santa Claus himself. No one Knows
where he comes from, whittier ne goeth or
what becomes of him during the Tsst G the
year. He may be a fairy personsge sprung
into existence for the Yuletide season only,
or he may be like Santa Claus iCIustrious
and active, preparing for his winter visit
People know little about him.
The time when Santa Claus won't 10 the
woods in person and collected hrs Christmas
trees is past. His silver hatcioi and rcin-
deer cart have nothing to do with he Christ
mas trees of Christmas morning Santa
Claus delegates this work now 10 subordi-
mates, who carry 1T on year after year, CIV
ing the greatest satisfaction TO she old saint
and his beneficiaries.
THE TREE MEN
There are in this country onil 2bout sen
Christmas tree men, and these zen supply
the whole of the United States With Christ
mas trees. They buy and sell them, and
the Christmas tree industry with lhcm lsas
important and almost as lucrative as the
gold mine to the African kings.
Christmas trees come mostly from Maine.
Here there are farmers and woo1nen who
make q business OF raising the pineS. Ihey
have large woods filled with he rees.
These woods they keep clear OF noXious
weeds and thistles. They clear paths
through for walking, and they visit them
frequently during the year to be suTo no
blight has touched the tree, ana that The
sun is reaching down to all alike
The art in raising a Christmas tree IS to
make ii grow evenly. A crooked Christmas
tree canno t be given away; and tire men VINO
have forests of these things are obliged to
give each enough space to let Ii gTow prop
erly. Trees naturally look upward toward
the light. Therefore they must be packed
together to keep their tops always reaching
up, yet far enough apartnot to 30 dWaFfed.
This Is the Christmas tree art IN nutshell.
When the Christmas tree is STown the
Christmas tree man visits the woods. He
looks at the trees, decides how many car
loads he will take OF the trees, and orders
them cut do own for him and tie1 ii punches
The Christmas tree man pays about 70 cents
q bunch and there are about five trees in
each bunch. Six hundred bunChes make a
carload-three thousand trees.
After the farmer has chopped his trees
and loaded them upon train he mas nor hing
more to do except count his money. Christ
mas trees are like wheat They bfng in
spot cash. The Christmas tree n1n receives
the trees at New York, unloads them and
sells them to the grocerman- After that
they reach the port OF Santa Claus by more
or less mysterious processes.
TREES FROM MAINE.
The Maine Christmas tree is much more
valuable than any other tree. The 70 Tmers
OF Maine have raised the trees f1T so many
generations that they know Bil 5bout-cut-
ting them down. They have method by
which they catch the tree as q brea k9 Off
at the root under the blows of Inc axe. and
when 1t lands upon the ground ID Is sup
ported so that not a limb is broken. The
Adirondacks have good trees now, ana the
tat or N epylntipc i,nT as.lp
in Maine" is where the best trees grow.
Fashions change in Christmas trees as
in houses. Trees that were very fashionable
d few years ago cannot be sold nov The
boys OF twenty years ago had little spruce
tree on Christmas morning. But the boys
OF todaywant the balsam. A Chrstnas
tree man who should undertake 20 supply
Santa Claus with spruce trees his year,
or cedars, would go home with 3 small
opinion of st. Nicks generosity. Moth
ing but the fragrant baisam now sells.
A Christmas tree must be used about
ten days after it is cut. The trees are
bought in the woods Just about now. A
week from now they are all tied in punches
and landed in the cars, and within another
week they are getting their decorations.
There is always preference IN all
cities for trees that were Gus near by.
Nearly every one wants a tree that win
keep green and fluffy until New Years
day, and only the trees near at home viii
do this.
The average size of a Christmas rec
is six feet. This sells for abo1t forty or
fifty cents on a good year. The largest
trees are about twenty-five feet high,
or up to the second-5tory WINDOW. There
is small demand for them, snG- ing to
the trouble of bringing them 10 he city,
they sell for all of S25. Santa Cla IS Is very
eXtravagent when he buys srcn trees as
this.
The cheapest Christmas tree sold Is the
little sapling of three feet. i5 brings
about fifteen cents. Occasionaliy On Christ
mas eve of q bad year the grocer VIII put
it lower, but fifteen cents is the p-iCG he
Christmas tree man reckoDs upon.
STRINGS OF GREEN.
Christmas greens come under different
commercial treatmen from the trees. These
in the East come from New Jersey and
Della ware. The favorite greens are ground
pine, feathery tuft and princess feather.
These are tied in ropes and shipped to the
cities. In the West they come mostly rom
Wisconsin. The Christmas tree man sells
these green ropes for SO for 100 yards, and
the green grocer gets about 20 cents yard
for them. But nobody thinks this is dear.
Christmas at the rate of 20 cen IS for good
long yard is dirt cheap.
II the green are sold loose they are pa cked
in barrels, and the Christmas tree man pokes
an inqutring nose into each barrel, shifts
the princess feather and pronounccs the
greens worth 10 or 10 cents per barrel.
This is the way the Christmas streamers
are obtained.
Holly from England may be very good
but holly from Jersey is the crispest. daint-
lest. reddest-berried stuff that ever graced
a mantel. Jersey holly travels all over.
1t is never cheap. and keeps its high price
from the fact Of the soft climate Of Jersey.