Norwich bulletin., 1921-12-17

foremost Christmas tree of the eastern United States.
 "On the trunk of the Balsam Fir will be found a large number of little blister like sacs of balsam. A finger nail will puncture the little bltsters and there will flow a small quantity of balsam, as clear las crystal. When refined, this is used in making m1cresopoic slides In our scientific laboratories. It is used chief ly 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 al- most round, about one-sixth of an inch long, clustered at the end of the twig and appear. to be covered with a coat ing of varnish. The cones are from twqeto four inches long, cylindrical and stand erect on the twigs. Their scales fall off soon after they reach maturity and leave a bare central axiz. This is an unusual habit among evergreen trees. 1 In the Northwoods many collect the leaves and use them in filling pillows and cushions, for 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 It weighs about 24 pounds per cubic foot
 and is used extensively in the manufac- ture of paper pulp. crates and packing boxes.
 There are twenty kinds of Spruce trees and they pecur in every country | In the Northern hemisphere. ight are native to North America, three being found in the eastern part and five in the western part.
 Deep green leaves which are armed
 with spines along the margin distinguish cd Christmas Holly The leaves are so
 bright and they often reflect light as
 mirrors. The small bright berries are 1 also helpful means of identification In i fall and in winter. An old manuscript In
 the British Museum states that the molly hath berrys as red as an rose" Devout
 people regard the leaves of the ':olly IS
 a symbol of the Saviours crown Of
 thorns.
 l. Unfortunately the methods of collect ing the branches is very destructive Y: many instances the tops of the trees are cut out completely. leaving noth ing but an erect bare trunk We need
 the holly sprig for decorative purposes at Christmas but in order that a future lsupply may be insured, special steps must be taken at once to regulate cutting fr such a way that all the existing trees may continue to produce annually ar abundant supply of thrifty branchlets
 The American Holly. also called the Christmas Holly. are linked with ou, 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 1T the coastal plain regions of the sout'
 and found locally as far north as Penn sylvania and along the Atlantic coas
 to southern Maine While the Christ
 mas Holly may reach a height of 50 fee
 and diameter of to feet in Arkan sas and Texas, it rarely exceeds 20 fee in height and few inches in diameter il the extreme northern part of it's natura
 range.
 "Of. course, nobody, particularly tn
 young folk, wants to miss Mistletoe. T. the only parasitic plant that Is used a , Christmas time. It is sometimes calle, a tree thief, for it gets all it's nourish ment from the trees upon which it lives
 Tn the south one may see thousands O trees literally festoored witt, the Mistle
 toe. It sometimes grows in inc form O f a witches broom or one may sec i ,, dangling down from the branches of
 tree in graceful array. It always ap
 propri3tes for its own develCDment tn ] lifeblood of the tree upon which it feeds i, Some four hundred species of rutstleto . are listed. Most of them occur in tn { tropics and nearly ali of them ar. para l sitic. Many varieties are S.und in tn [ United States. They occur from tn coast of New Jersey southwark ana :, westward
 Tn Oklahoma the mIstIetoe has bee ! selected as the state flower. If yo question an Oklahoman about the para , site plant as a state flower he is lfkeI , to answer that if man may tan ma t pie tree for syrup, and the pine tree fo 1 turpentine, it is fair for the mistletoe f $ tap trees so that 1t may develop an l become available for decorative use. F,x
 animation of the leaves of the r1istIeto | show that they are almost nerveles l thick and fieshy, and 2 magnifying glas r will show only about 20 breathing nore - to the square inch while in the commo @ lilac there occurs at least 200 0O e breathing pores to the square inche. @ Large quantities of Trailing Pine a s so known as Princess Pine, and Groun - Hemlock are used at Christmas tim r These plants really are not pines or hen d locks but are closely related to il
 ferns
 e As Christmas trees can be raised . it a profit, so it js also possible to rais 6 the Christmas Holly and the ATiszIefc = by artificial means. In that way 2 a adequate supply may be insured for Ii
 future and all those who contribute i, L. wards the developing of successful met v ods of Dropagating these plants will il ' sure the welfare and happiness of fl h 'ure generations"