The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-12-18

For the great mass of sufferers there is no prospect of relief, and 1 how the thousands of claims already granted are to be met puzzles every body, including the claimants l in the extreme northern part of It's natural range.
 MiStIetoe R Parasite
 "Of course, nobody, particularly the 1 young folk, wants to miss mistletoe. 1t is the only parasite plant that is used at Christmas time. It is some ] times called tree thief, for it gets l all it's nourishment from the trees upon which it lives. In the south one may see thousands of trees literally festooned with the mistletoe. It sometimes grows in the form of witches broom, or one may see 1t i dangling down from the branches of a tree in graceful array. It always appropriates for it's own development the life blood of the tree upon which l 1t feeds Some 400 species of mistle- toe are listed. Most of them occur in /, the tropics. and nearly all of them are parasitic. Many varieties are found l in the Gnited States. They occur from the coast of New Jersey south ward and westward.
 l Tn Oklahoma the mistletoe has 1 been selected as the state flower. If l you question an Oklahoman about the i parasitic plant as a state flower, he 1 is likely to answer that if man may tap maple tree for syrup. and the pine tree for turpentine, it is fair for the mistletoe to tap trees so that it may develop and become available for decorative use. Examination of the l leaves of the mistletoe show they are almost nerveless thick and fleshy and ] a magnifYlng glass will show only about POO breathing pores to the square inch, while in the common lilac 1 there occurs at least 200. .000 breath
 ing pores to the square inch.S Large quantities of trailing pine, also known as princess pine and l ground hemlock. are used at Christ mas time. These plants really are not pines or hemlocks, but are closely related to the ferns.
 As Christmas trees can be raised at a profit, so it Is also possible to raise the Christmas holly and the mis- | tletoe by artificial means. In that | way an adequate supply may be in- sured for the future, and all those who contribute towards the develop Ing of successful methods of propa-
 gating these plants will insure the welfare and happiness of future gen. erations."
 "The Belgian ministry of waters and forests once boasted of several
 fine small plantations of Douglas fir
 in the Ardennes mountains, border
 ing on the old Duchy of Luxembourg
 where most of the Belgian forests
 were formerly located, and this is
 the area which will be- replanted
 with patches of American Douglas
 fir mixed with European pine and spruce.
 Fear Insect Pests
 "rhe policy of intermingling of
 kinds and planting in small groups common to both France and Belgium | is intended as an assurance against
 serious loss from insect or other 1 pests which might be particularly
 likely to attack a foreign species
 Also 1t must be recognized that even 1 if a good average crop of seedlings
 from the 25,000,0 ,000 seeds presented | by the association to each of our
 former allies were to be planted in
 single block, the resulting forest
 would not be likely to cover in all more than five or six thousand acres, while France, for example, Is con- i frohted with the necessity of reaffor- | esting not less than 100000 acres.
 Across the channel the use of our seeds is of more than ordinary in- l LeIeSt because Ol llb COHHtcbion WilH 1 Great Britain's new forest policy
 Here again the favorite American species is the Douglas fir, although l Sitke spruce (the spruce of Alaska and our northern Pacific coast) is much desired. As a moisture loving tree it would seem to be especially suited to the British climate. About hundred pounds of American seed were suited to the British climate.
 100. Pounds for Scotland | About hundred pounds of Amer ican seed were allocated by the Brit 1 ish forestry commission to the in- teresting work of afforestation along { the route of the Caledonian canal in 1 Scotland. From the point of view of sentiment few better places could have been found than this, since that canal was the route by which large number of American submarine chasers were mobilized at will, either in the Irish sea or the North sea. Almost within sight of one of these i future American tree plantations lie 1 today row upon row of chasers, now l the property of the British govern ment and awaiting sale or demoli- 1 tion.
 ''Douglas fir is being planted in al- l most every section of the British Isles, but by far the larger portion | of the seeds which come rom the American Forestry association were dispatched by the commission to Ire land These were planted in nur- series in County Tyrone about ls 1 months ago, and have shown sur prisingly rapid and healthy growth. It is in fact one of the very best nursery showings that may be seen anywhere. and the local foresters may well be proud thereof. This disposition of the seeds was made quite without suggestion 1 from the American Forestry associa- ! ton. and in view of the intending Irish problems can only hope that | here, too, their dedication as seeds i of good will will bear fruit in help i ing to establish the desire for broad minded cooperation and understand i ing.
 "Great Britains present planting program calls for not less than 14.00D | pounds of seed per annum. France can hardly do with a smaller amount.
 while the loss through drouth has | made it equally necessary for little Belgium to acquire large additional 1 supplies. Nearly every accessible tree growing country in the world | will have to furnish it's share: Ger many, Austria, Holland. Poland, Ser bia, Italy. Corsica, Japan and last. but not least the United States and