Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22

ates who average about So day.
The second force of the army working
for the American child is thus disposed of.
Rate of Growth.
A Christmas tree takes five years to grow.
The woodman who raises them can count
on going over a tract of land once every
five years. This year he takes his boy of
five with him; five years from now he takes
the boy again, lad who can be helpful;
five years later the boy begins to chop for
himself in the same spot and still five
the proceeds of the Christmas tree from
this piece of land. and Is reckoning upon
starting a little chap of his own in bust
ness.
is always certain ty that any gaps in the
ranks of the strengthening army can al
ways be quickly filled.
The first two stages of the gathering are
not costly. The big expense of the Christ
mas tree is in getting it to market
From the forest the trees go to the big
railroad and steamboat centers on wagons,
sometimes drawn by dozen horses
The men who do the hauling realize the
third of the expenditures it takes to bring
Christmas to the American parlor.
a tree that could he bought for ) cents in
Maine thus increases in value according to
the cost of its transportation until by the
time it reaches the big cities it has become
worth 81.
Not the least of the toll spent that the
boys and girls of our land NAV have their
Christmas finds its way into the pockets of
the great transportation companies. rail and
steamer
The retailer gets the final profit but he
earns his money for when he buys his load
of trees he takes the chance of selling them
out at good margin or having left on his
hands stock that is utterly worthless as
soon as Christmas morning dawns.
Furnish Big Supply.
New York state yields many Christmas
trees, thousands being cut annually in the
Catskill mountains. Vermont, New Hamp-
shire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Mich
igan in the middle west furnish big sup
ply.
Although the spruce is an ideal tree on
account of its beauty and the power of its
branches in supporting heavy presents, the
hrs are in greater demand, because they are
more open and require less decoration
Pines and hemlocks, being less costly also
find large and ready sales.
The total number of trees used in the
United States is numrer that startles In
New England 1,CO0OO0 trees are cut down
every year The other states of the Union
furnish 100000. total of 100000
Germany, which Is really the home of the
Christmas tree. does not come within % per
cent of this total, and the other nations of
tie world are nowhere
Nor is Uncle Sans fea ty to the tree sur
PrlS1ng. 1t represents the keystone of the
whole celebration under the stars and
stripes. Father and mother plan for weeks
the kind of trimmings they shall buy this
year, and during a greater part of Christ
mas eve and Christmas morning, when the
children are deep in dreams of what Santa
Claus pack will carry for them, the love of
the parents is entwined in every bit of tin,
Sci, every ornament that Is fastened to
branches fragrant with the scent Of the
woods
Alone of Christmas features, the tree
never fails. Presents sometimes disappoint
but nobody ever finds fault with the tree
Be it the twenty-foot giant that adorns the
home of the mi lionare or the three-foot
slip in the attic of poverty. it is always the
symbol that brings Yuletide JOY to the chill
dren's faces.
In Maryland and Virginia.
For months before Christmas country
people all over the surrounding territory in
Maryland and Virginia have been preparing
their supplies of Christmas greens for
Washington, and the next few days will
show the results of their labors in the dis
plays of trees, wreaths and sprays of holly
and misttetoe, which will be arranged about
all sides of Market space and various for
lists stands.
Not little of the quantity of the greens
gathered in this vicinity also goes to Phila-
delphia, New York and other cities. In
former years many of the greens for Christ
mas used in New York, particularly were
gathered in the immediate vicinity of that
city, principally from the woods about
Sandy Hook, but the government no longer
allows the greens to be cut on its reserva-