The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-12-26
XMAS TREE
IS IMMUNE
Government Does not Pro-
pose to Interfere.
FOUR MILLION TREES
Used Each Year to Make the
Children Happy.
Although the Forests are In a De-
gree Devastated the Game is Held
to be Worth the Candle.

Washington, Dec. 2G-The coun.
try's forests aIgan have been cali
ed upon TO supply about four mil
lion Christmas trees, and again
many persons have asked themselves
and have queried the United States
Forest Service" Is the custom
menace to the movement for forest
preservation"
In the millions of happy homes
over the country where the young
or generation has made the Christ.
mas tree the center of play since
early Friday morning, there are
many mothers and fathers who have
given the question more or less
thought From Sunday schools and
other organizations also, which hold
an annual celebration around a
benefit of the little ones, has come
/ the question whether 1t Is consls-
| tent to urge conservation of forest
resources and then to cut millions
of young trees every year to afford
little JOY in the passing holiday
season.
eyes, It is consistent and proper
that the custom should be maintain
ed, has been the answer of United
States Forester Clifford Pinchot in
every case "Trees are for use, and
there Is no other use to which
they could be put which would
contribute so much to the joy of
man as their use by the children on
this great holiday of the year.
"The number of trees cut for
this use each year is utterly in
significant when compared to the
consumption for other purposes for
which timber is demanded. Not
more than four million Christmas
trees are used each year, one In
every fourth family. If planted four
feet apart they could be grown on
less than / 500 acres. This clearing
of an area equal to a good sized
farm each Christmas should not be
"a subject of much worry, when 1t is
remembered that for lumber alone
It is necessary to take timber from
an area of more than 100000 acres
every day of the year
"It is true that there has been
serious damage to forest growth in
the cutting Of Christmas trees in
various sections of the country, par
ticuIarly i'm the AdirOndacks and
parts of New England, but in these
very sections the damage through
the cutting Of young eyergreens Tor
use at Christmas Is iniinitesimal
when compared with the loss of for
esi resources through fires and care
less methods of numbering. The
moper remedy is not TO stop using
trees but to adopt wiser methods OF
use.
"Tt is generally realized that a
certain proportion of land must al
ways be used for forest growth, Just
as for other crops. Christmas trees
are one form of this crop. There
Is no more reason for an outcry
against using land to grow Christmas
trees than to grow flowers.
The Forest Service upholds the
Christmas tree custom, but recog-
niZes at the same time, that the
indiscriminate cutting of evergreens
to supply the holiday trade has
produced bad effect upon many
stands of merchantable kinds of trees
i'm different sections of the country,
Waste and destruction usually result
when woodlands are not under a
proper system of forest manage
ment FOresters say that 1t Is not
by denying ourselves the wholesome
pleasure of having a bit Of nature
i'm the home at Christmas that the
problem of conserving the forests
viii be solved, but by learning how
To use the forests wisely and prop
erly. The ravages through forest
fires must be checked, the many
avenues of waste of timber in Its
travel from the woods to the mill
and thence to the market must be
closed, and almost numberless I'M
portant problems demand attention
before the Christmas tree.
Germany is conceded 10 have the
highest developed system of forest
MANAGEMENT of any country, yet Its
per capita use of Christmas trees Is
greatest. The cutting OF small trees
for Christmas Is not there consider
ed In the least as a menace to the
forest but on the contrary, as
means of improving the forest by
thinning and as a source of revenue.
I, is therefore constantly encourage
ed
There Is little doubt but that the
time will come when the Christmas
tree business will become n rec
ognized industry in this country,
I,nd that os much attention will