Pueblo chieftain., 1921-12-18
ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS TREES;
Will BECOME EXTINCT ISFEAR

an inch long. clustered at the end OF
the twig and appear to bo covered
with a coating of varnish The cones
are from two to four inches long. CYL
indricai, and stand erect on the twigs
Their scales fall off soon after they
reach maturity and leave n bare cen-
trial axis. This Is an unusual habit
among evergreen trees. In the North
woods many collect the leaves and use
them In filling pillows and cushions.
for the leaves when dried emit very
fragrant odor. Tho wood is soft, docs
not contain resin passages and ranges
In color from white to brown. 1t
weighs about ~ pounds per cubic foot
and is used extremely in the manu-
facturc of paper pulp. crates and pack
ing 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.
Deep green leaves which are armed
with spines along the margin distin-
guish Christmas Holly. The leaves are
SO bright and they often reflect light
as mirrors. The small bright red ber-
ries arc also a helpful means of identi-
fication In fall and in winter. An old
manuscript In the British museum
states that the Holy hath berys as
red as any rose" >Devout people re.
gard the leaves fthe Holly as sym.
bol of tho Saviour's crown of thorns.
Unfortunately tho methods of col
lcctipg tho branches IL very destruc-
tive In many instances the tops of
the trees are cut out completely. lcav-
ing nothing but an erect bare trunk.
We need the holly eprig for decora :
At,s. NE Hl,t- lat 1tst ts-
order that n future supply may he in
sured, special steps must be taken at
onco to regulate tho cutting in such a
way that all the existing trees may
continue to produce annually AN abunt-
ant supply of thrifty brauchlets
The American Holly. Also called
Christmas Holly, and tho closely rclat-
ed European Holly. ara linked with
our Christmas traditions. Many peo-
pic are familiar with the holly leaves
and berries. but few of them know that
they grow upon trees which arc COM
| mon In the coastal plain regions of the
South and found locally as far north
as PENNSYLVANIA and along the Allan
tic coast TO southern Maine While the
Christmas Holly may reach height
of 80 feet and n diameter OF to feet
| in Arkansas and Texas. II rarely eN-
| ceeds 30 feet in height and few
| inches in diameter in the extreme
| northern part Of ira natural rsngc.
"of course. nobody, particularly tho
| young folk. wants In miss Mistlctoe.
| H. 10 the oul, parasitic plant that is
used at Christmas tiur. II IL some
| times called tree thief. for II gets all
| It's nourishment from tho trees upon
4 which II lives. In tho South ono may
| sec thousands Of trees literally fes-
| ,ocneJ with the Mis'lc'oe. I, some
| tip,cs grows in the form of a witches
| broom. or one may scc " dangling
| down from the branches Of n tres in
| graceful array. II always appropri.
| ates FOR its own deu ulopment the life
| blood of the tree upon which " feeds.
Some four hundred SPECIES OF nistle-
toe are listed. Most of thcm occur in
| tho tropics. and nearly all Of them are
| parasitic. MANY varieties are found
| in the United States. They occur from
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