744 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



mutilate t h e 

 trees from 

 which the 

 branchlets are 

 cut. 



Christmas 

 trees are not 

 the only gifts 

 of the forest 

 used for 

 Christmas 

 decora tion. 

 The holly 

 wreath i s one 

 of the oldest, 

 best known, 

 and most wide- 

 ly used decora- 

 t i V e designs 

 used at the 

 Yuletide sea- 

 son. To really 

 know the holly 

 is to love it. It 

 has held a 

 prominent 



BLACK SPRUCE BARK 



The bark of the Black Spruce is covered 

 with thin grayish brown scales. 



The White Pine has its needles in 

 :lusters of five, while those of the 

 Pitch Pine occur in threes, and those 

 of the Jack Pine in twos. The west- 

 em White Pine and the Sugar Pine, 

 like the eastern White Pine, have 

 their needles in clusters of five. The 

 Short-leaf Pine of the South has its 

 leaves in clusters of two or three, 

 while the Long-leaf Pine has its need- 

 les in clusters of three, and range in 

 length from 12 to 18 inches. The 

 Long-leaf Pine is rarely used as a 

 Christmas tree, but during the pa'^t 

 few years enormous quantities of 

 branchlets of this tree, covered with 

 dense tufts of foliage, have been 

 shipped into the northern markets 

 and sold as "Louisiana Palms", and 

 "Florida Pines." The demand for this 

 material appears to be growing, and 

 it is quite likely that a permanent 

 market may be established, but it is 

 hoped that some method of cutting 

 will be used that will not interfere 

 with the regeneration of the forest or 



NEEDLE-LIKE LEAVES AND CONES OF RED SPRUCE 



The three spruce trees native to eastern North America are 



used extensively for decoration at Christmas time. 



place in the legends of old, and 

 is frequently mentioned in his- 

 tory, and prized highly today. 



The American Holly, also 

 called Christmas Holly, and the 

 closely related European Holly, 

 are linked inseparably with our 

 Christmas traditions. Many 

 people are familiar with the 

 holly leaves and berries, but few 

 of them know that they grow 

 upon trees which are common in 

 the coastal plain regions of the 

 South and found locally as far 

 north as Pennsylvania and along 

 the Atlantic Coast to southern 

 Maine. 



While the Christmas Holly 

 may reach a height of 50 feet 

 and a diameter of 2 to' 3 feet 

 in Arkansas and Texas, it rare- 

 ly exceeds 20 feet in height and 

 a few inches in diameter in the 

 extreme northern part of its nat- 

 ural range. 



The northern migration of 

 the Christmas Holly is really 

 an interesting story. This tree 

 is a native of the southland, 

 reaching its greatest abundance 

 in the coastal plain regions, its 

 largest size in Texas, and great- 



RED SPRUCE BARK 



The bark is ruddy brown, becoming gray- 

 ish with age. 



