Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-20
Novel Lights for Christmas Trees.

Christmas trees studded with miniature
electric lights will be much used during the
holiday season this year, because they make
the evergreens look much more brilliant
than the old-fashioned wax tapers, and,
contrary to the general opinion, are not
costly now. These electric decorations are
much easier to arrange than the candles,
for they may be dropped in festoons
through the branches. where they throw q
bright light not only around the trunk. that
is usually in darkness. but on the surface
as well. These globes in dark red, green,
blue and both the plain and frosted white
glass are attached to deep green wires that
do not show when placed amid the foliage.
and the electricity for the lighting is fur
nished by storage battery placed beneath
the tree, so that these ornaments may be
used In a house where there are no electric
lights. A battery, with eight or ten globes
of about three candle power, costs 50 and
will give sufficient light to make five or
even six-foot tree quite brilliant. The cost
OF these batteries depends entirely upon
how many globes and how much wire is
needed to make a tree bright.
A feature of the electric lighting for
Christmas trees that Will undoubtedly be q
favorite this season Is the imitation fruit
and vegetable globes. in both large and
small sizes and in the natural colors of
these edibles
Imagine how attractive a tree will be
studded with red strawberry globes, with
yellow oranges, or with pumpkins. while
combination of red-cheeked apples, yellow
pears yellow and red peaches placed amid
the dark green foliage would not only add
interest to the celebration. but would make
the decorations much more effective. Be
sides these fruit globes there are those
that are made in imitation of hickory nuts,
walnuts, pecans brazil and chestnuts that
when lighted give decidedly unique ap-
pearance to a tree. The vegetable globes
that are made in potato, squash, beet, tur-
nip and carrot, &C, shapes, will be es-
a,zl1, l-- = Ia 20, fal
for families where the children are young,
for the little folk will take delight in puz-
Zling out what vegetable each light repre-
sents, In imitation OF what fruit or nut
the lights are made. The fancy globes may
be used either with a storage battery or at
tached to connecting plug in the ceiling
or wall If house Is wired. With bat
terry eight lamps cost from IS upward, ac-
cording to the candle power of the lights:
the three-candie-power globes, IL
bought by the piece, may be purchased for
about % cents each.
Using candles for lighting trees is, OF
course, much less expensive, but naturally
more trouble and not half as effective as
the electric globes, and, a rule, If the
tree is kept Illuminated for more than thirty
minutes the tapers will burn down and
have to be replaced to keep them from set
ting fire to the decorations or from going
out and thus leaving the branches in dark
ness. The average size candles in fancy
figured. red, blue, green. or white cost
about 10 cents a box and contain from a
dozen to twenty-four. To keep tree bright
six or ten dozen tapers will be used during
an hour, so that the expense Will amount
to from 60 to 50 cents for light for short
space of time. The holders into which these
candles are fitted sell for about cents
dozen, and once these are clamped around
the ends of the branches of fir trees they
need not be disturbed, for the tapers can
be readily fastened to these sockets.
In using candles the chances for orna-
mental decorations are lessened, for the
tapers can be used only on the ends OF
twgs that are strong enough to support
them, while with the electric lights fes-
toons may be made and arranged to suit
the fancy.