Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-12-18

They clear paths through for walking,
and they visit them frequently during
the year to be sure no blight has touched
the tree and that the sun IS reaching
down to all alike.
The art in raising a Christmas tree is
to make it grow evenly. a crooked
Christmas tree cannot be given away;
and the men who have forests of these
| trees are obliged to give each enough
| space to let 1t grow properly. Trees nat
| urally look upward towards the light.
! Therefore they must be packed together
| to keep their tops always reaching up,
yet far enough apart not to be dwaTfed.
This is the Christmas tree art in a. nut
she'll
When the Christmas tree is grown the
Christmas-tree man visits the woods.
He looks at the trees, decides how many
carloads he will take of the trees and
orders them cut down for him and tied
in punches. The Christmas-tree maaa
pays about 25 cents a bunch, and there
are about five trees in each bunch. Six
hundred punches make carload-3000'
trees.
After the farmer has chopped his trees
and loaded them upon q train he has,
nothing more to do except count his,
money. Christmas trees are like wheat.
They bring IN spot cash. The Christmas
tree man receives the trees at New York,
unloads them and sells them to the g1o-
ceryman. After that they reach the port
Of Santa Claus by more or less mys-
ferrous processes.
Trees from Maine.
The Maine Christmas tree is much
more valuable than amy other tree The
farmers of Maine have raised the trees
| for so many generations that they know
all about cutting them down They
have methGd by which they catch the
| tree as it breaks OFF at the root under.
the blows of the axe, and when it lands
upon the ground it is supported so that
not limb is injured The Adirondacks
! have good trees now, and the state Of
Michigan supplies many, but down in
Maine is where the best trees grow
| Fashions change in Christmas trees as
| in houses. Trees that were very fash,
! lonable few years ago cannot be sold
now. The boys of twenty years ago had
a little spruce tree ON Christmas morning
| They thought it a fine thing. But the
| boys of today want the balsam. A
| Christmas-tree man who should UNDER
| take to supply Santa Claus with spruce
/ trees this year, or with cedars. would go
| home with a small opinion of st. Nick's
| generosity. Nothing but the fragrant
! balSam now sells.
A Christmas tree must be used about
| ten days after it is cut. The trees ane
bought in the woods just about now. A
week from now they are tied in punches
and landed in the cars, and within an
other week they are getting their decoTa-
/ ti0Ms.
/ There is always a preference in all
| cities for trees that were cut near by.
/ Nearly every one wants q tree that viii
keep green and fluffy until New Year
day, and only the trees near at home will
do this.
The average size of a Christmas tree
| is six feet. This sells for about 40 or SO
| cents on a. good year. The largest trees
| are about twenty-five feet high. or up to
the second-story window. There is small
demand for them, and, owing to the trou-
BILE of bringing them to the city, they sell
| for all Of $50. Santa Claus is very eX-
travagant when he buys such trees as
this.
The cheapest Christmas tree sold is
the little sapling of three feet. It brings
about Is cents. Occasionally on Christ.
mas eve of a bad year the grocer will
put it lower, but 15 cents is the price the
Christmas tree man reckOns upon.
Strings of Green.
ferent commercial treatment from the
trees. These in the East come from
New Jersey and Delaware The favor,
tie green's are ground pine feathery tuft
and Princess feather. These are tied in
ropes and shipped to the cities. In the
West they come mostly from Wisconsin
The Christmas-tree man sells these
green grocer gets about % cents a yard
for them. But nobody thinks this is
dear Christmas at the rate of % cents
for a good long yard is dirt cheap.
. If the greens are sold loose they are
packed in barrels, and the Christmas
tree man pokes an inGuiring nose in
each barrel, shifts the Princess feather