The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-01
Frederick Haskin's Letter
Christmas Fixings.

tOf II SSlS al ltS H0uFlshm-.
from the trees upon which if aS.
Travelling throughout the
one may see thousands of trass -
orally festooned with n misfl..-
orally festOoned with the mistIsS
1t sometimes grows in the fnrS
a w1tch's broom, or one NAV
it dangling down from the brapss.
Of a uee in graceful array. 4
ways appropFiates for its ozp
Yelopment the life blood Of =
tree upon which it feeds.
There are more than 400 sns.
of mistletoe known in the E1o-g
Most of them occur ia the tronsA
and nearly all of them are ~
Site Many varieties are fousS !
the United States. They a..
from the coast of New Jersey son,s
ward and westward.
HOW MistletOe GreWS
The mistletoe is so comn,on
the state of Oklahoma that Il ~.
been selected as the state flower r
you question an Oklahomap an.
the parasitic plant as q state A.,
er, he is likely to answer thaf
man may tap maple tree for sgg,,
and the pine tree for tnpentins |,
is fair for the mistletoe to tas
trees so that it may develoD a55
become available for decorative
use.
The mistletoe is lot only uBi7Bs
in its appearance, and in its novs,.
ing habits, but also because Of n
structure. A careful examinatioa
of the leaves of the mistIetoe Nil
reveal that they are almost nerya.
less, thick and heshy, and il M
has a magnifying glass and 81.
amines the lower surface OF ths
leaf he will find only about 28
breathing pores to the square feeb
while in the common lilac there o..
cur at least 200, 1000 breathing pore
to the square inch.
The white fruit of the mistletas
is attractive and unique in is
makeup. The seed is covered win
a gelatinous covering which Al.
heres very readily to the feet Of
birds, and is thus carried to ths
twigs and branches of trees uDoB
which it terminates and begins 10
grow. When the seed puts out roots
they always turn toward the
branch, no matter whether thev
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 mistlet0e Il Isl
important to know the trees upon
which it prefers to grow for il viii
not develop upon all kinds Of trees.
Some of the trees upon which it
prefers to grow are the eims and
backberries. Both of these groups
are close kin to the mistletOe.
Large quantities of the trailing
pine, also known as the princess
pine, and ground hemlOck are used
Christmas time. These plants
really are not pines or hemlOckS,
but are closely related to the ferns
When our country was still new
and undeveIoped, decorative mater
ial for Christmas use was super
abundant, but now the demand is
so great and the supply so small
that something must be done TO.
insure a future supply. Many sug-
gestions may be made to meet the
situation, but there are only two
practical solutions to this gTea,
problem. II is imperative that the
existing supply be given adequate
protection and harvested with care
There is no better way 10 insure a
future supply OF fir and spruce
trees, holly wreaths and mistietoe
than by making our forests fire
Thai the use of the Christmas
trees is perfectly compatible with
the welfare of the forest. is fully
proved by the practice in the Euro
pean forests. The cutting OF small
trees for Christmas is not there
considered in the least as 3 menace
to the forest but as a means for
improving the forest and a source
of revenue, and is therefore con
stantly encouraged. The follow
Ing IulCS dIe iALA uGHA ~
United States forest service for the
woodland owner who wishes TO In
prove a rather dense stand Of
eyergreens 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
pick out and mark the mos
vigorous specimens OF trees. Thess
should be allowed 10 remain %
form the mature stand Of timber.
Mark for removal the trees
are crowding these better
specimens. Cut as many Of t1ess
inferior trees as there is a suitable
market for. Cut them carefully %
avoid damage TO remaining trees
Remove carefully from the area
and market them in accordance
with instructions from the buyer
to avoid any cause for dispute.
Just as Christmas trees are nov
raised at a profit, so It Is ais9
possible to raise Christmas boH5
and mistletoe by artificial meaA@
In this way an adequate sapgH
may be insured for the future