Great Falls tribune., 1921-12-04
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CHRISTMAS FIXINGS.

&, few inches in diameter in the extreme
northern part of its natural range
! Another Christmas gift of the for
est is the mistfetoe. 1t is the only
parasitic plant that is used for adorn-
ment at Christmas time. It is some
| times called tree thief, for it gets
all its nourishment from the trees upon
| which it lives. Travelling throughout
the south one may see thousands of
tletoe. 1t sometimes grows in the
form OF witch's broom, one may see
| it dangling down from the branches Of
a tree in graceful array. It always ap-
propriates for its own development the
life blood of the tree upon which it
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 va
rieties are found in the United States.
They occur from the coast of New
Jersey southwark 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 para
site plant as a state flower, he is
IlheiS " duSWeL luAt Il uldu may TAP
maple trees for sugar, and the pine
tree for turpentine, it is fair for the
mistletoe to tap trees so that it may
develop and become available for dec
orative use.
The mistletoe is not only unique in
it's 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 magnifying
glass and examines the lower surface
of the leaf he will find only about 200
while in the common lilac there occur
at least 100000 breathing pores to the
square inch.
The white fruit of the mistletoe is
attractive and unique in its makeup.
The seed is covered with a gelatinous
covering which adheres very readily to
the feet of birds, and is thus carried
to the twigs and branches of trees
upon which it terminates and begins
to grow. When 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 pos
sible to raise the mistletoe. In plant
ing seeds of the mlsuetoe it is inn
portant to know the trees upon which
it preferes to grow for it will not de-
velop upon all kinds Of trees. Some
of the trees upon which it prefers to
grow are the elms and hackberries.
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 at Christ
ThnSo rAo11xy vanh
pines or hemlocks. but are closely re-
lated to the ferns.
When our country was still new and
undeveloped, decorative material for
Christmas use was superabundant, but
now the demand Is so great and the
supply so small that something must
be done to insure future supply.
Many suggestions may be made to
meet the situation. but there are only
two practical solutions to this great
problem. 1t is imperative that the
existing supply be given adequate pro-
lection and harvested with care. There
supply of fir and spruce trees, holly
weaths and mistletoe than by making
our forests fireproof.
That the use of the Christmas
trees is perfectly compatible with the
welfare Of the forest, Is fully proved
by the practice in the European for
ests. The cutting Of small trees for
Christmas is not there considered in
the least as a menace to the forest but
as a means for improving the forest
and a source Of revenue, and is there
fore constantly encouraged. The fol-
lowing rules are laid down by the
United States forest service for the
woodland owner who wishes to I'M
prove a rather dense stand Of ever
green's 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 carefully,
pick out and mark the most vigorous
specimens Of trees. These should be
allowed to remain to form the mature
stand Of timber