Arizona republican., 1921-11-30
CHRISTMAS FIXINGS

ment at Christmas time. It is some- times called a tree thief. for it gets all it's nourishment from the trees upon which it lives. Travelling throughout the South one may see thousands of trees literally festooned with the mistletoe. It sometimes grows in the form of witch's broom, or one may see it dangling down from the branches of a tree in grace full array. It always appropriates for it's own development the life blood of the tree upon which 1t feeds.
 There are more than 400 species of mistletoe known in the world. Most of them occur in the tropics, and nearly all of them are parasitic. Many varieties are found in the United States. They occur from the coast of New Jersey southward and westward.
 How Mistletoe Grows. The mistletoe is so common in the state of Oklahoma that it has been selected as the state flower If you question an Oklahoman about the parasitic plant as a state flower, he is likely to answer that if man may tap maple tree for sugar, and the pine tree fur turpentine. it is fair for the mistletoe to tap trees so that 1t may develop and become available for decorative use.
 The mistletoe is not only unique in its appearance. and in its Towering habits, but also because of its struc- ture. A careful examination of the leaves of the mistletoe will reveal
 that they are almost nerveless, thick and fleshy, and if one has a magni- | Tying glass and examines the lower surface of the leaf he will find only
 about 200 breathing pores to the | square inch, while in the common lilac there occur at least 200, ,000 breathing pores to the square inch.
 The white fruit of the mistletoe is ! attractive and unique in its make up. The seed is covered with a l gelatinous covering which adheres very readily to the feet of birds, and is thus carried to the twigs and | branches of trees upon which if terminates and begins to grow. When 1 the seed puts out roots they always turn toward the branch. no matter whether they are located on the upper or lower side.
 | Few people may know that it is | possible to raise the mistletoe. In | planting seeds of the mistletoe it is | important to know the trees upon which it prefers to grow for it will
 not develop upon all kinds of trees. ! Some of the trees upon which it pre- 1 fers to grow are the elns and hack berries. Both of these groups are close kin to the mistletoe
 Large quantities of the trailing l pine, also known as the princess pine. and ground hemlock are used at l Christmas time. These plants really
 are not pines or hemlocks. but are closely related to the ferns.
 When our country was still new and undeveloped, decorative material for Christmas use was superabund-
 ant, but now the demand is so great l and the supply so small that some
 thing must be done to insure a future | supply. Many suggestions may be 1 made to meet the situation, but there
 are only two practical solutions to this great problem. It is imperative
 that the existing supply be given | adequate protection and harvested
 with care. There is no better way
 to insure future supply of fir and | spruce trees, holly wreaths and
 mistletoe than by making our forests fireproof
 | That the use of the Christmas trees
 is perfectly compatible with the wei
 fare of the forest, is fully proved by the practice in the European forests. The cutting of small trees for Christ | mas is not there cosidered in the least as a menace to the forest but as a means for improving the forest
 and source of revenue, and is there fore constantly encouraged. The following rules are laid down by the United States Forest Service for the l woodland owner who wishes to i'm prove rather dense stand of ever
 greens and market the good trees
 for Christmas purposes.
 Find a market for Christmas trees
 of the species which are growing on
 your land.
 Go through the woodland care
 fully, pick out and mark the most vigorous specimens of trees. These
 should be allowed to remain to form
 the mature stand of timber.
 I Mark for removal the trees which
 are crowding these better specimens
 Cut as many of these inferior trees
 as there is a suitable market for
 Cut them carefully to avoid damage to remaining trees. Remove care fully from the area and market them
 in accordance with instructions from
 the buyer to avoid any cause foI
 dispute.
 Just as Christmas trees are now being raised at a profit, so it is also