and vicinity where they are made up 
into stars, anchors, crosses, wreaths, 
hearts, triangles, horseshoes, and miles 
of roping for decorative purposes. 
For the entire length of Monmouth 
county the families within a mile of the 
bay shore are nearly all engaged in the 
business of making these decorations 
at this season. Four miles from Key- 
port is the town of Keansburg which 
now surpasses the former place in this 
industry. Neighbors are referred to as 
"making" or "not making" and num- 
bers of new faces appear in the town, 
attracted by the industry from the 
north, south, and west. The wages 
paid are not high but anyone who can 
"make" can always find a position dur- 
ing the busy season. 
The small villages along this strip of 
country now present a pretty appear- 
ance. The houses are almost hidden 
behind stacks of evergreens of all kinds. 
A peep into a detached summer kitchen 
will disclose a group of girls gathered 
around a long table piled high with 
evergreens, and at first glance they 
appear to be principally engaged in 
pleasant conversation, but you will not 
have to watch them long before you 
are aware that their busy fingers are 
turning out Christmas decorations at 
an astonishing rate. Or, if you should 
happen to look in at night, you might 
see the tables and evergreens pushed 
to one side and gay groups of girls and 
young boat-builders, ovstermen, and 
fishermen engaged in a lively neighbor- 
hood dance. 
Materials other than evergreens are 
used in this industry to a considerable 
extent; laths are used to make frames 
for the stars and crosses. Willows 
are gathered in quantities from the 
marshes with which frames for wreaths 
are made, but the trade in rattan is 
probably the most benefited, as noth- 
ing else will give such satisfaction in 
making the frames for hearts, anchors, 
and other decorations of this kind. 
The completed decorations are 
shipped to New York, Philadelphia, and 
Boston, but not to Chicago. In Chi- 
cago we find a different state of affairs. 
We are so near the evergreen forests 
of Wisconsin, where Christmas trees 
may be had for practically nothing, 
that the cost of transportation alone 
from New Jersey would be greater 
than the price realized would amount 
to. 
Numbers of hulks of condemned 
vessels lie in and around Chicago 
which are practically worthless. These 
boats are taken in the fall by seamen 
who are out of employment up along 
the Wisconsin coast and there loaded 
with evergreens, are brought back to 
the Chicago river and docked, and lie 
there until the load is disposed of to 
the holiday trade. The decorations 
are mainly manufactured in the city in 
the store-rooms of the dealers. 
That the business of bringing these 
trees down from the north is not with- 
out serious danger and hardship is 
evidenced by the wreck of the schooner 
S. Thai, which occurred off the coast 
near Glencoe, 111., a short time ago, in 
which five lives were lost. Five lives 
yielded up that our children may en- 
joy an hour of pleasure! 
Do they ever think of the cost? 
A WINTER'S WALK. 
Gleamed the red sun athwart the misty haze 
Which veiled the cold earth from its loving 
gaze, 
Feeble and sad as hope in sorrow's hour — 
But for thy soul it still hath warmth and 
power; 
Not to its cheerless beauty wert thou blind; 
To the keen eye of thy poe*ic mind 
Beauty still lives, though nature's flowrets 
die, 
And wintry sunsets fade along the sky! 
And naught escaped thee as we strolled 
along, 
Nor changeful ray, nor bird's faint chirping 
song. 
Blessed with a fancy easily inspired, 
All was beheld, and nothing una<imired; 
From the dim city to the clouded plain, 
Not one of all God's blessings eriven in vain. 
— Hon. Mrs. Norton. 
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