The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-11
By will T. sheehan.


 horses. And sitting high upon the niIed up Christmas spirit is a white man in a. buttoned up overcoat or negro arrayed in ragged winter clothes. but happy for all that.
 The OK wagon driver unloads his car 20 of Christmas spirit at packing house. collects for the load, "fo' dollars and six bits" and goes on tour of tbe stores of the town for Christmas cheer for his family. Mule wagon and horse wagon are unloaded in the pack ing house yards, and their owners re- ceive the pay for that which they brought from the evergreen woods about here.
 The Christmas spirit is packed in their wooden boxes. lined with paper, in this box, holly; in the other mistle- toe and smilax; in another ferns ana palms, and shipped to Denver. to Wash tngton, to New York, to Minneapolis, and they are even shipped to decorate the palatial hotels at Palm Beach. Fla Each box carries it's own Christmas cheer, its own Christmas spirit, the spirit of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. For IS not the holly and the mistletoe the ln- carnation of the Christmas spirit? Are they not to Christmas what the tur- i key is to Thanksgiving? Was there
  written which was not eutwined with holly and mistletoe. Dickens. who did more to plant the love of Christmas and the Christmas spirit in the hearts of men. than any save He Tor whom 1t is named, never drew with his pen a picture of Christmas without wreath ing and decorating 1t with holly ana mistletoe. They contain within them selves the symbol and the signihcance of the Christmas spirit.
 And smilax, palms and other ever greens are coming more and more each year as a part of and belonging 10 Christmas A strong custom and a custom which grows stronger with each year, Is the one which makes the Christmas decorations of woodland evergreens. The Christmas greens, the smilax, over door, mirror and mantei' the mistletoe on the chandelier, the red eleam of the holly berries in the decorations. are now as much part of Christmas as the red glow of the fire within, the music of happy laugh ter and about the Northern home, the snow without
 Eyergreen'a Unique Business.
 This custom of using woodland eV- ergreens as Christmas decorations has established here in Evergreen the most unioue business in the State. the whole sale shipment of evergreens to North ern cities and to Southern cities, for that matter And by the way, 1t is no little recomm mendation to the men wno are selling these decorations to snip them out of and to have their mail di- rected to Evergreen, Ala. The name fits the business like glove.
 still. the town was founded and nam cd long before 1t was ever dreamed that the woods about here would be made to give up their green richness n beautify the rooms of the White House for an inaugural ball. But the business since it was founded seven teen years ago, has assumed great pro- portions. It is estimated that each wear the sale of woodland evergreens brings into Evergreen between $50.O0O and o,00O. About Evergreen within a radius of fifteen or twenty-five miles practically every farmer. white or black, is interested in it. It is of course only a side line with them, but useful and convenient side line.
 They gather the evergreens, bring them to town and sell them to the deal CTS. The evergreens are practically waste products. They grow wild and luxuriantly in the woods. Only the la bor of gathering them IS needed 10 make them marketable.
 There are three firms in Evergreen who pack and ship evergreens, Cald- well, the Woodsman Company, Edward A, Beaven and Carter Brothers. Two of these firms. 1t is said, ship each year s25,O00 worth of greenery out of Evergreen. The busy season Is on now. the busiest of the year. The few weeks preceding Christmas is crowded with hustle and work for the ever green dealers. Telegrams are constant ly coming in from St. Louis, from Chicago, from Louisville, from cities North and South
 Just now an average of three car loads of evergreens day are going forward from Evergreen. The cars are shipped by express. Freight is too slow and too uncertain.
 The vines and bushes are not gath cred by the shippers. They have no gang of men in the woods getting out the evergreens and bringing them to them. The small frmer, the man who owns a team of any sort. when he needs money. goes Into the woods gathers the evergreen and brings them into town.
 Most Beautiful Decorative.
 "Evergreens here,' said Edward A Beavin. are as staple as cotton There is always a market for them. The far mer can go to the woods and gather them in the assurance that he will find a ready sale for them. They are a waste product good for nothing except for decoratives. And. by the way, the National Society of Florists has called our smilax here the most beautiful dec oration on the market The business is constantly increasing. You see we can afford to ship evergreen to North ern florists cheaper than they could de- vote to their raising the necessary floor space in a hot house."
 All that we sell grows wild in the swamps and woods. Practically all farmers that own land are in the bus mess.
 MT Caldwell and I are interested in telephone lines which run through the country and by means of which we keep in touch with those who gather the evergreens and bring them to town. We are thus enabled to meet any big order that might come in all of it's requirements.
 The season for evergreens opens up September 15, and continues until June 15, although Mir. Caldwell, Caldwell the Woodsman," ships some stuff as late as July 1st. The winter is of course the favorite shipping season. and November and December are the prize months. IL is regarded as somewhat dangerous to ship the greens in the spring as the sap is running in the vines and bushes. vegetation Is active and they are liable to reach their ob- jective point in bad condition. The true season is in the months when vegetation is dormant.
 The term evergreens, so extensively