The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-16

Fach room with ivy leaves is drest, And every post with holly.
 Now all our neighbors chimneys
 smoke,
 Then ovens they with baked meats
 choke,
 Ana ali their splits are turning,
 Without the door let sorrow lie,
 And if for cold it hap to die,
 we'll bury it in a Christmas pie.
 And everInore be merry.'
 Tn no part of the world are the beau ties and wonders of Nature so plainly displayed as in the plant world, and fu no other branch has Nature been so beneflcient to the human race
 Tn Genesis we read that after the earth was created, and divided into land and water. Gods next act was to bld the earth bring forth frass, the herb-yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit. Thus we see that even before the creation of man, the trees were made to grow, and for centuries. the very existence of the human race was dependent upon the trees and herbs which sprang from the earth Food and drink, when hungry or thirsty, medicine when iii, and fuel to 2 burn--all came from the forests and groves. The mighty trees gave them HHEltGE from the SLOEHtS OA WtSltSks 0t the too forvent sunshine of summer Of the trunks, they formed the rude canoes, and of the branches and young saplings, they formed bows and spears. with which they could protect them selves from their enemies, and kill the animals which formed their principal food.
 What wonder then, that long before the dawn of civilization we find the primitive races lowing down In re- verence before the objects which formed so important part of their daily existence, and even where the trees were not literally worshiped, they were reverenced as the abiding place of Gods and Bookcases. who were sup posed to wield a powerful influence over the good and evil fortunes of the puny race, called men. The myths and folklore, which come to us from pre- historic times are filled with refer ences to the trees and their abiding spirits.
 Each tree was the home of some dryad or spirit, each grove the gather ing place of some band of fairies or elves and woe be that rash mortal who was so unfortunate as to offend them! So deeply was the love of Nature rooted in the hearts Of the pagan races, as we like to call them, that tine good old monks and priests wisely refrained from the useless effort to destroy it entirely, but strove as far as possible to adapt the heaten holidays and GUS Esms to the Christian church, sa that new converts found the observanees not altogether unlike those of their earlier belief. It may be also that the monks thought that by letting them use the evergreens that they once held sacred to adorn the altar of the Deity the deed might be accepted as saeri- flee of the pagan gods to the Christian God.
 Naturally, Christmas-Christ-A Mass holiest day in all the calender, was es- socially chosen to show the subser- vienee of the old faith to the new,
 The Christmas tree itself is but relic of the days of old, when men xvorshiped in groves, and when fes- tivals and merry making of all kinds wore held beneath the shelter of some favorite tree, or group of trees. It may be also. some faint memory fingers In the mind of the time when the hu- man race lived pricipally On fruit, and 50 naturally good gifts were supposed Co come from trees.
 Come, bring with noise,
 My merry, merry boys.
 The Christmas log to the firing,
 While my good dame, she
 Bids ye all be free.
 And drink to your hearts desiring" So Herrick sings. and the Yule log has ever been a favorite subject with 4he poets, and many signs and portents were formerly connected with it. It was a great log of wood, preferably of ash, and was brought into the sitting room with a vast deal of ceremony on Christmas eve and lighted with brand of last years log. Should one of the bearers stumble or trip, while coming in the door, serious illness, or death will visit that home before another e,hristTnas eve. The log must burn all night. and if allowed to go out, ill luck will surely follow If sparks fly ing from the log lighted upon any one, it meant great good luck. The brand remaining next morning was put carefully away, to light tho next Christmas fire. Not only was the Yule log of ash, but ashen faggots were also burned because of an ancient tra- aition. that it was before an ash wood fire that Mary first bather the infant Strange to say. the ash is held sacred in the folk lore of almost every nation. Tn the Scandinavian Edda, or Sacred Rock, we are told that the gods form erly held high council under a mighty ash, YsdreagiL the summit of which reaches to heaven. the branches cover 4ha earth. and the roots penetrate to the internal regions On it's top most limb an eagle rests, while tiny squir- rel runs up and down it's trunk, and
  count of all that is going on. At the root of the Tree are two fountains. one of which contains wisdom, and one the knowledge Of things to come. This book also tells us that it was of { young ash that the first man was mad srhe ash is universally considered 1 protection against lightning, pesti fence, or evil spirits. Especially is thi' so in Scotland and Wales. The ash ol Rowan tree, Is planted about farm houses to insure them against evi spirits and witchcraft, and branches are hung above the doors of stablei and COW houses to protect the animal A very ancient song tells us:
 Their spells were vain, the nag
 returned
 To the queen, in sorrowful mood,
 Crying, that witches have no powe
 Where there is Rowan wood"
 Even among the American Indian 4he mountain Ash is an object of grea Veneratlon In Browns Trees of Amer fca" we read: From time tmmemoria fhe Indians have made offerings t' 4he spirits of their departed heroe by casting around the ash bough O other trees" Ask them why they d