The Republican., 1934-01-11
The Future of Christ.
mas Greens
By Katherine Scarborough

world sings at Christmas there has
been added a new sort of spiritual"
which serves as an obligato to the
rest and which concludes with the re
frain: LET That Laurel Co."
Like all spirituals, it is cast in a
minor key, for it tells of the ruthless
cutting of thousands Of Christmas
trees which remain unsold each year
and are thrown away; of the ground
pine-or crowfoot, as it is better
known in this part of the world
which has all but disappeared from
the roster of Christmas greens; of the
holly which is almost extinct.
And now the threat is extended to
the mountain laurel, foremost of hol-
iday greens throughout the populous
East. This shrub, when our ancestors
landed on American shores some three
centuries ago, grew in profusion all
along the coast from Maine to Flori-
da and west to the Mississippi River.
Now it is so rare in Northern New
England that it is virtually never seen
and within wide radii of most of the
large cities along the Atlantic sea-
board it is almost forgotten.
In the woods the laurel lives in re-
tirement, opening its star-like bios
SONS in the spring and, after they fall,
polishing its leaves until they CLEAN
brightly when all things around it
have died. At this season it is sought
by many cutters. One New York
dealer alone uses three hundred tons
of the leafy branches annually and the
entire New York market uses about
thousand tons a year. Other cities
make lavish use of it in proportion.
Made up into ropes-one yard of lau-
rel roping uses up at least twenty sea-
sons growth Of one year each, while
more than thirty are required to make
the thick strands most in demand
thousands of yards of it are draped
each Christmas season about the fa-i
cades of public buildings and shops.
are hung from the lofty arches of
Christian churches and are psGclanded
in hotels and private hour IS to make
a festive setting for tregs, receptions,
dances and bridge parties during the
Christmas season. I9{ addition to this
demand, thousands Of acres of laurel
are damaged or destroyed by fire ev-
cry year,
However, Knany acres of laurel scat
tered Throughout the Allegheny high
lands are still untouched, and these,
conss9rvationists believe, will be sufi-
cletlt to meet present and future de-
mlands if properly handled and if the
products are intelligently used.
This proviso means simply that the
plant be used in moderation and
treated as a crop to be cut over every
second or third year with sharp knives
in such a manner as to leave clean
wounds that will heal rapidly while
sufficient growth is allowed to remain
to insure complete recovery. The sue
cess of such methods is said to be
demonstrated by the handling of the
great fern crop in Vermont, whence
comes a larg share of the graceful
fronds with which florists enhance the
beauty of their bouquets. Every au-
tumn the wild crop of Vermont ferns
is harvested in such manner as to in
sure a constant, undiminishing supply.
The fronds are put in cold storage,
where they keep fresh and green for
a long period.
More deeply cherished, perhaps
than the mountain laurel as an en-
blem of Christmas in the American
holly which has been associated from
the remote past with Christmas be-
liefs and customs. To the earliest
settlers the American holly must have
been godsend at Christmas with its
reminder of happy celebrations in
lands left far behind, and to this day
the Americanized Latin farmer ad-
heres to the ancient Latin custom Of
decorating the stalls of his farm ami
mails with sprigs of holy at Yuletide
Each year branches of this CHEEKY
shrub, laden with brilliant berries
have become fewer and farther be-
tween. Wreaths and ropes of the
serrated leaves have been more or less
convincingly supplemented with red
berries from other plants or even the
synthetic variety. Something, the
purchaser surmises, must have gone
wrong with the berry producing pow
ers of the species. Something has,
for holly, like the ginkgo and the pop
lar, produces separate male and fe-
male plants and it is the latter, with
their brilliant berries, which have suf-
fered. Now, with the females all but
gone, the males too are doomed to
vanish within a short time unless the
demand for this plant leads to exten-
sive commercial cultivation.
Bruce High Trims Friendsville