Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-13
OVER FOUR MILLION
CHRISTMAS TREES.
Surprising Total Sold Annually
Throughout Entire Country
Some Sell for $50.


city alone will receive this Iu'etide IN
the neighborhood of 12o carloads. or some
COO trees Each car is loaded Win
800 70 Go bundles, and these bundles aV-
erage from four to five trees each- ihs
number OF Christmas trees sold annuaily
throughout the whole country, accoEuihs
to statistics. reaches the surprising 70
tai OF over 100000. thus equailns tue
combined consumption of those trees IN
England. Scotland and Wales, and being
q ner cent. greater than those sold In
tn, German market Philadelphia. it l.
said. uses in the neshborhood OF loe car
loads, while Boston. which IS mucn near
er the supply. uses only from ~ 10 &c
cars.
Most OF the trees sold in the New ORR
market come from the woods OF Maine
vermont. New Hampshire and the
northern part OF New York State Ac-
cordine to dealers along West street
New York. who have been coming from
their mountain homes every year ZOE
sou,s forty-odd seasons. the supply O.
trees this year Is liberal
Most OF the trees are cut aoout tne
middle of November, In some cases III
teen or twenty miles from a ra'ifoau, -
, case OF an early and heavy Eau OF snow,
the trees are buried where they fall, and
dealers assert that It does not pay TO
shovel them out.
The vast majority Of Christmas trees
are ba!sams-sometimes called oafsan M
frs. These are found in great numpers
throughout the low. marshy lands OF the
Northern States. The spruces are more
symmetrical growing on higher ground.
| and not SO adjoining or IN such close
proximity to each other as the oa!sams.
| The greatest objection to the spruce.
i however is the propensity the needles
! have to fall off when the trees are taken
J into warm houses
| A number of white pines come from
| the Adirondack region. although the tree
NAV b.. found from Georgia to Canada.
| There is one other excellent tree-the
|. abies exceisa-but this species is not In
great demand.
PRICE OF TREES.
| Christmas trees in the North range in
| price. retailing from 10 or Is cents each.
! to Sc or 49, according to size. these flst
! ures representing the cheaper grades.
| Some OF the very large white pines. used
| principally for church festivals. bring as
high as $50 and So.
: Fifth-avenue florists, New York. state
! that the balsam is the most popular with
| the fashionable element. a fine specimen
of this tree bringing s. or $40. There are
| always q few. these florists assert, who
| desire the very best and accordingly pay
$50 to $50 for nursery-Grown japanese
frs and hybrids, and In rare cases $50 to
SIS for a very fine blue spruce of the
family bvcea.
There grows In the Carolinas dwarfed
pine bearing cones. This tree is very ex-
! pensive, and as far as can be learned none
! whatever are going North this year. The
beautiful needle-pines from Georgia are
| not transported as tree. but the
branches are shipped North in quantities
and in some cases, remade into trees.
! For decorating purposes the holly ranks
| first, the more berries the higher the
| price Between 5000 and 1900 cases of this
| evergreen will supply the New York mar
F; ket the price ranging from 81 to S. a case.
! Not many years ago Staten Island and
| Southern Jersey supplied New York with
i all it's holly. but the demand has so IN
creased that this evergreen is now shipped
| from Delaware, Maryland. Virginia and
| Alabama: in fact. in smaller portions. it
comes from all parts of the South Some
one has stated that Yuletide without holly
| and mstletoe would suggest a Christmas
| without turkey.
USE OF MIsTLEToE-
! In America mistletoe is found growing
largely on the elm. It is a true parasite,
| receiving its nurture from the tree upon
! which it is found. The seed of the mis-
| tIetoe is pecksd into the bark by birds.
| Mistletoe and its legend has done much In
| Its day to develop the art Of OSCILLATION.
! The word art is here used because there
| is as much DIVERSITY III the lAoOS VI tiaiS
salute as there is in the bow OF the
Frenchman. At present oscula ton is un-
| der a ban, either from the fear of BAG
! terra, or through the influence Of Darwin,
| who, with other naturalists, attempted to
! trace back the kiss to the act OF the lower
| ANIMALS who seize their prey with their
| teeth.
| Some 500 cases OF mistletoe are imported
| Christmas from England and Norway.
| In England uistletoe is a parasite of the
| oak and apple tree. The English pro-
| duct brings double the price Of the Amer
| lean, as the berries are much larger and
i clearer In oden times the Druids hung
| mistetoe in their dwellings, to propit!ate
| the woodland sprites.
Among the eyergreens Is found the
| Southern wild sInilax from Alabama,
| without a peer in its grace and fretIke
| appearance. There is also the heullock.
| laurel, rhododendron foliage and the
| Princes Pine. which is said to be scarce
! this season; the beautiful berried Hex
and running-sround pine. all OF these are
| in demand.
From Florida come the Palmetto leaves
and crowns, needie-pines and gray moss.
sometimes called Spanish moss; from Cal
| ifornia, the pepper-berries. All these ever
| in abundance In the northern markets:
| florists say that Christmas evergreens
! and decorations make a business in it
| self.
Travelling Window Drcssers.