OTHER GIFTS OF THE FOREST 163 



willow, ware, toys, implements, tool handles, shuttles a list 

 would take up many pages. Indeed, over four thousand distinct 

 uses for wood have been listed. 



But only one more product of the forest is important enough 

 for separate mention here the Christmas tree. For the Christ- 

 mas tree is the great winter crop of the forest and it is one of 

 the forest's oldest gifts. Its history extends so far back into the 

 mists of antiquity that its origin is hard to trace. Some say the 

 custom arose with the Egyptians, who each year in December 

 decorated their doors with branches of the date palm, the 

 symbol of life triumphant over death. Or, it may be connected 

 with the great tree of Norse mythology, the Tree of Time 

 within whose roots and branches Heaven and Earth are bound. 



To us, in America, the term Christmas tree is an all-inclusive 

 term for a number of different species of trees. The kind of 

 Christmas tree you think of depends on your locality. For we 

 use firs, spruces, cedars, even magnolia. On the Pacific Coast 

 white fir is used. In Ohio, Norway spruce. In Maryland and 

 Virginia the scrub pine and further south, cedar and holly. 

 Hemlock, too, is a beautiful Christmas tree, but drops its 

 needles very soon. But perhaps, most widely loved of all for 

 Christmas trees is the balsam fir, with its long horizontal 

 branches, its deep green foliage, and aromatic fragrance. Nikko 

 fir, a beautiful native tree of Japan, has recently found favor 

 in this country. 



The question is often asked if this Christmas tree custom is 

 not a wasteful drain on our forests. Foresters reply that the 

 Christmas trees used by every person in the land could be 

 grown on a few thousand acres of land and that their use has 

 practically no effect on the present drain on our forests. Grow- 



