The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-12-18
CHRISTMAS TREES
NEAR EXTINCTION
Wholesale Cutting BY Vendors and
Forest Fires Threaten Destruc-
tion of Holiday Greens.

from, how many, and the means used
TO bring hundreds Of train loads Of
them 70 the markets.
But the Christmas tree and the holly
and the other greens which go far to-
ward making the holiday atmosphere
are doomed to extinction unless some
means are taken to reproduce them.
The state Of Vermont alone furnishes
five milton trees for tho eastern mar
Jsets each Christmas time. and unless
means are taken TO conserve ana re-
produce the supply some time will be
exhausted. The American Forestry as
ISOLATION has issued Christmas tree
monograph on the subject.
'yrhe first step to save the Christmas
green's" it says, Ifs better fire preren-
dion methods. wholesale cutting by
vendors who never go into the woods
except at this season and the 'holdlp'
prices in big cities are denounced. on
the other hand proper cutting aids the
+. growth OF the larger trees and II prop
erly done is q help. The holly is being
cut by the unthinking in a way that
borders on slaughter, and only the right
sort OF cutting win save this valued
green for the holiday season.
Ten OF the 25 kinds Of fir trees
found III the world are native to North
America, eight occur on the Pacific
slopes and in the Rocky mountain re-
eions, and only two are found in the
eastern United States, and one of these
---Fraser's fir--is limited to the high
mountains Of Virginia, North Carolina
and Tennessee. Most important in the
western group are the grand fir, Nobel
fir, white fir and red fir. The balsam
fir As unquestfonaloly the best known
and most widely distributed Of our
native frs. IT is one of the most beau
tiful evergreen trees native to North
America. It frequents, hogs, swamps
ana other wet places. Among its chief
associates ARE the American larch.
arbor vitae. black spruce and red
spruce Its companion species are not
many for few trees can withstand the
eutreme wet and cold conditions OF our
northern hogs and swarnps.
The balsam fir IS a tree which sat-
isfies many human wants. but the
greatest OF all its gifts is the Christ
MAG tree AS a Christmas tree it has
no superior, and in many localities no
other native tree has Christmas tree.
qualities that even approach 1t. The
many parts or continental Europe, has
many characteristics in common with
our balsaan tir. 1t, too. has been used
for centuries as Christmas tree. The
similarity between these two trees is
very marked. which may have helped
develop our high regard for the balsam
FIR and rate it as the foremost Christ
mas tree of tho eastern United States.
80 - hall 44rif1 a,a
found a large number OF little blister
like sacs of lbalsam. A finger nail viii
puncture the little blisters and there
viii flow a small quantity of balsam,
as clear as crystal. When refined, this
IS used in making microscopic slides in
our scientific laboratories. 1t is used
chiefly to attach cover glass to the
slides Balsam IS also regarded as an
excellent medicine.
'Cones and buds Of the balsam fir
are also very distinctive. The buds are
almost round, about one-sixth of an
inch long, clustered at the end of the
twig and appear to he covered with a
coating Of varnish. The cones are from
two to four inches long cylindrical, and
stand erect on the twigs. Their scales
fall off soon after they reach maturity
and leave a bare central axis. This IS
an unusual habit among evergreen
trees. In the north woods many collect
the leaves and use them In filling pill
lows and cushions, Tor the leaves when
dried emit a very fragrant odor. The
wood IS soft, does not contain resin
passages, and ranges in color from
white TO brown. 1t weighs about "a
pounds per cubic foot and is used ex-
tensively in the manufacture of paper
pulp, crates and packing boxes.
There are twenty kinds Of spruce
trees and they occur in every country
in the northern hemisphere. Eight are
native to North America, three being
found in the eastern part and five in
tho western part.
peep green leaves which are armed
With splnes along the margin distin-
ruish Christmas holly. The leaves are
90 bright they often reflect light as
mirrors. The small bright, red berries
Are also a helpful means OF Identified
zion In tail and winter. An old manu-
script III the British museum states
that the holly hath herys as red as any
rose Devout people regard the leaves
az the holly as a symbol Of the Sa-
yiour's crown Of thorns.
unfortunately, the methods of coll
lecting the branches is very destruc-
tive. In many instances the tops Of
the trees are cut out completely, leav-
ing nothing but an erect bare trunk. We
need the holly sprig for decorative
purposes at Christmas, but In order
mo, a future supply may be insured
speciai steps must be taken at once to
regulate the - Ing IN such a way that
an the existing trees may continue to
produce annually an abundant supply
"A thrifty branchlets.
tTho American holly, also called
christmas holly. and the closely related
I,nropean holly, are linked with our
christmas traditions. Many people are
familiar with the holly leaves and ber-
ries. but few Of them know that they
grow upon trees which are common in
tl,, coastal ,Iain regions Of the south