New-York tribune., 1906-12-20

In Christmas trees which springs up each year
along the dock side of West street.
I'VE shall be cleaned up by Friday" said one
Of the farmers" he loaded pocket edition
of a tree on a waiting truck
II may be the shortage in cars out West that
has brought about the shortage In Christmas
trees, but the probability is that not nearly so
many trees were chopped. The upstate Christ
mas tree man didn't mean to get stung as he
was last year.
At the store Of John H Francle & Co. the
Washington street produce dealers they said
there might be a decided stringency in trees at
the last
'You tell the uptown papa he'd better hurry
up and not get left anyway" was the comfort
ing message. "TTees>are gOod-nOt so many Of
them as last year. that's all. But as yet there
is appreciable rise in prIces-only 20 cents
the bunch wholesale. Holly is good. Is
mistletoe laurel and the general run of greenery.
Holly wreaths have the call for window
decoration. Plenty of churches halls. Sunday
schools. etc, send direct to the wholesalers. and
they are paying 81 80 dozen for wreaths like
this or So for a bunch Of twelve. like that.
THE profits on Christmas trees are small. The
men who market them buy them standing. so
much the acre. Then they throw their force of
men in TO cut, bunch and haul. The trees may
be twenty miles from the nearest railway sta
ton. What with labor being scarce and cOnse-
quently dearer, the price OF the rope having
gone up 100 per cent, and counting the mans
own time ana IdDOr ana t1e expense Of MS Trip
to New York. he's lucky If he clears from I'D
to II cents tree. taking them by and large.
That figure IT, Is the real reason why the
cross streets in the vicinity of the North River
bulkhead amt running green with trees this
year, so TO speak, and why the farm Is less
in area than last year. Christmas trees don't
pay.
Then last year the market was overstOcked.
When Christmas over there was a patch
OF leftover trees the dock the size Of this
years farm The men who had cut them or
bought them on speculation not only could not
sell them. but they had 70 pay people to carry
them away"
While 1.-The farm" sees one end, and the most
spirited end, Of the traffic in Christmas trees,
the hotels along the waterfront receive what
may be termed the domestic side OF the busi-
ness Year after year these hotels-queer, old
fashioned, low brOwed places, for the most part
SEQ a big accession to the number Of their
guests during the early days Of December.
These are the Christmas tree men,
They come down from the Catskills ana
Maine said the clerk Of a West street hotel
''ahead OF their loads. pretty much the same
set OF men one season after another. We've had
fifty of 'em this time. but business hasn't been
brisk this year, the State of Maine chaps
have cleaned UP their affairs and are going
home to-day.
mo they all don't bring their wives only
some Of em, but the women coma regularly
It's their annual visit 20 little old New York
While their men folk are out on the farm, the
women go gadding round town, rubberfng in
the Broadway and Fifth avenue shops Then
when the evenin' shadders begin to fall and
streets leading to the groves of Christmas trees
are black with homegoing Jerseyites, the wives
and husbands join forces for the theatre or
music hall"