THE CUTTING OF CHRISTMAS TREES 



BY ALFRED GASKILL 



STATE FORESTER OF NEW JERSEY 



T T may be admitted that the practice of wasteful cut- 

 ting in producing Christmas trees is as objectionable 

 as wasteful cutting by lumbermen. It is a fact, however, 

 that the production of Christmas trees is a perfectly legit- 

 imate industry which can be practiced in complete ac- 

 cord with the accepted method in forestry. In fact, it is 

 entirely possible to produce Christmas trees upon ground 

 that is devoted to the production of timber, or pulp wood. 



The hills of Vermont are counted on to produce each 

 year some 5,000,000 trees for decorative purposes. That 

 means that approximately 5,000 acres of rough Vermont 

 land are to yield a paying crop in the form of Christmas 

 trees. It may be doubted if any other crop that could be 

 taken from such land would be so remunerative. From 

 the standpoint of economics therefore the industry is jus- 

 tifiable, and if it be pointed out that Vermont has 2,500,- 

 000 acres of such land, which the owners would do well 

 to utilize, as they do not now do for the production of 

 Christmas trees and lumber, they and their State would 

 benefit largely. 



If forestry is to establish itself it must be upon a prac- 

 tical basis. Foresters everywhere are striving for a rec- 



ognition of this rule. They do not exclude from the list 

 of forest products anything which benefits humanity, 

 and enlists the owner's interest by being profitable to 

 him. 



We have several forest states. Part of their wealth 

 has been derived, and probably always must be derived, 

 from forests. The extraction every year of several mil- 

 lion Christmas trees will do good rather than harm, 

 provided the industry is established on a rational basis. 



Surely the introduction of forest greens into winter 

 homes and wintry surroundings is gladdening, uplifting, 

 mellowing, and tends to loving kindness, as well as jol- 

 lity. Barring occasional accidents, I feel strongly that 

 any effort to rob the Christmas spirit of its woodland 

 quality would be most unfortunate. 



Even if it were necessary to sacrifice something of our 

 forests to support this idea it would be worth while, but 

 no sacrifice is necessary. We can have Christmas trees 

 in abundance and more and better forests through a 

 stimulation of Christmas tree production rather than 

 through an effort to curtail it. 



AN AGE-OLD CUSTOM 



fTERY commonly the question is raised as to whether 

 " the cutting and use of trees for Christmas purposes 

 is not a great waste, and whether steps should not be 

 taken to dis- 

 courageor 

 prohibit it. In 

 the opinion of 

 forestry offi- 

 cials the cus- 

 tom is so old, 

 so well 

 grounded, 

 and so vener- 

 ated, that even 

 if it were eco- 

 n o m i c a 1 1 y 

 somewhat 

 i n d e fensible, 

 these aspects 

 will and should 

 continue 

 t o outweigh 

 economic con- 

 siderations. It 

 is denied, how- 

 ever, that pure 

 economic con- 

 siderations would lead to the abandonment of the Christ- 

 mas-tree custom. Trees are for use, they argue, and 

 tlicre is no other use to which they could be put that 



CHRISTMAS TREES REAL ONES, IN FESTIVE ARRAY 



would contribute so much to the joy of mankind as their 

 use by children on this one great holiday of the year. 

 Further, particularly in the Northeastern States, a large 



proportion of 

 the Christmas 

 trees are cut 

 from pasture 

 lands on which 

 they are en- 

 croaching o r 

 from land 

 which would 

 be cleared up 

 in the ordinary 

 course of farm 

 i m provement. 

 The trees 

 would be cut 

 in any event. A 

 market for 

 them gives the 

 owners some 

 return for their 

 labor if noth- 

 ing more. It 

 is true that in 

 the vicinity of 

 large cities, the Christmas-tree supply is sometimes se- 

 cured in such a way as to be destructive of young growth 

 and this, of course, should always be discouraged. 



