Smyrna times., 1933-01-25
HOLLY INDUSTRY
VALUED AT S25O,OOO
Survey Reveals One and One
Quarter Million Wreaths
Are Shipped Yearly
STATE GROWN HOLLY

The State Forestry Department
preliminary survey of the Christ-
mas greens industry in Delaware
indicates considerable reduction
III income to the people of the State
from this source during the 1882
shipping season. However, figures
compiled by the Department indi-
cate that the industry is of tre-
mendous Importance to the State
despite the economic conditions
confronting the world today. It is
estimated that this year the indus
try furnished pre-holiday employ
ment to about 10000 people con
sisting of holly gatherers. wreath
makers. lumber manufacturers
holly shippers, truckers and many
others directly or indirectly con
cerned with the industry. 1t Il
calculated approximately S10O,-
900 dollars was paid by holly ship
pers in the State to the wreath
makers and shipping case manu-
facturers alone. 1t is definitely
known that more than $3.50 stand
ard holly shipping cases were man
ufactured in Delaware and sold to
Delaware shippers exclusively. Of
this number of cases. approximate
Iy 6.200 cases containing II dozen
Wreaths per case were shipped BY
rail or transported by truck To
points outside Of the State. In adj
dition, reports show that approx
mately 1000 cartons of a dozen II
two dozen each were shipped out Of
the State by large and small deal
ers. These shipments would indi-
cate at least 1,275,OOO wreaths
handled by Delaware dealers Of
which roughly 95 per cent were
made in Delaware by Delaware
people from Delaware grown holly
Returns from questionnaires sent
out by the Department indicate
that more than 500 cases of loose
or bulk holly were handled by Del
aware dealers while an additional
300 cases were used for the ship
ment of laurel roping, mistletoe,
crows foot, lockwood wreaths, pap
er wreaths and dozens of other
creations made either from arti-
fetal products. At the present
time, the Department has no fig
ures on the quantity of dried and
painted holly wreaths and creations
prepared during the summer sea
son and shipped to markets for
Christmas use but it is believed
that these products would repre-
sent not small portion of the in
dustrial value of the holly tree to
the State. Altogether it is estimat-
ed that the holly traffic in the
State this year might be conserv-
atively valued at approximately
$250,000 representing cost of man
ufacture, shipping, packing and
profit to all concerned. This figure
represents a decided reduction in
return compared with that of 1926
when the industry was estimated
to return more than 100000 dol
lars in revenue to the people Of the
State and when the shipment Of
holly products was estimated at =
900 cases of wreaths and 600 cases
of loose holly. Despite this reduc-
ton in return, in the opinion of
State Forester w. S. Taber, Della
ware is still the leading State in
the production of American holly
greens and that although consider
able quantities of Christmas greens
are produced in the counties OF
Maryland and Virginia on the Del
Mar-Va Peninsula and even as far
South as North Carolina, Delaware
bids fair to remain the center q
the industry in the United States