16 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
THE CHRISTMAS TREE AND ITS FUTURE 
Statements which to our mind sound preposterous appear in the 
daily press of New York as to the quantity of Christmas trees 
shipped into the city. We will endeavor to obtain the correct fig¬ 
ures later, for we cannot believe that 200,000 carloads of from 
2500 to 4000 trees each—or some 600,000,000 trees were ever re¬ 
ceived here in ten years, let alone one. Reports state that these 
trees were offered at wholesale at 35c a bundle of 4, 5 or 6 trees, 
according to size. That there was indeed an abundant supply is 
evidenced from the fact that on the morning of Christmas eve 
trees were being offered in the streets of New York, good big 
ones, 6 feet high, at 25c each, and some 3 ft. to 4 ft. high for as 
low as 5c each. But at the same time in the more well-to-do 
neighborhoods, prices remained at from $1.50 to $4 for corres¬ 
ponding sizes. 
We are firm believers in the Christmas tree. There should be 
one in the home of every family where there are children. We 
will go as far as to advocate the Christmas tree even where there 
are but husband and wife. 
At the same time we deplore the heartless cutting of our forest 
evergreens in the way in which it is now done. The Christmas 
trees offered represent on an average a growth of from five to 
fifteen years. The majority of them may be looked upon as 
specimens or very nearly that, and so represent the selected pro¬ 
duct of an immense territory. Were they nursery grown they 
could not be offered at the prices mentioned, therefore we can 
only gather that they came from our forests and woodlands now 
growing rapidly bare. We are informed that the annual con¬ 
sumption of wood representing good trees for industrial purposes 
is twice that of the present rate of production. 
WHAT IS GOING TO BE DONE ABOUT IT? 
The growing scarcity is reflected in the price of timber for all 
purposes, and in the printing industry, in the increased cost of 
paper, both print and book. Print paper, even where contracted 
for by the thousands of tons per annum, costs the great news¬ 
papers double the price of six years ago, while the smaller news¬ 
papers are paying three or four times the 1913-1914 price. The 
book paper market is three times as high as it was in 1914 and 
we are informed that present indications are that it will go before 
long to five times that price; in other words, from 4c. per lb. to 
20c. This has not been brought about entirely through scarcity of 
material, it is true—wages and legislation each bear their part. 
The fundamental principle is that a rise of $1 in the raw ma¬ 
terial means an increase of $3 or more to the purchaser. In the 
case of cotton for instance, a man buying a white shirt or a woman 
a cotton blouse finds the cost just about three times what it was 
in 1914, cotton having increased in price from 8c. and 10c. per lb. 
to 40c. 
Coming back to the Christmas trees: The woodcutter this year, 
generally speaking, has receiveed but a bagatelle for his raw ma¬ 
terial, but the retailer has reaped a harvest, $2 up being the price 
asked for a tree until this slump of the day before Christmas, 
caused by the immense quantity thrown on the market. 
A restriction of the cutting of these young forest evergreens 
could only be brought about through Government action rein¬ 
forced by widespread education and we hope that our Government 
will take such action and adopt restrictive measures controlling 
forest cutting, after giving the nurserymen sufficient time to fur¬ 
nish this young stock. The Christmas tree industry could then 
be made a source of profit to all farmers and nurserymen who 
would then become the legitimate sources of supply. 
We see a great opportunity, too, both for conservation and for 
added enjoyment in the practice of buying small living trees in 
pots and, after enjoying them indoors, planting them out to com¬ 
memorate the holiday and embellish the home grounds. This 
custom, which is already being advocated and promoted by enter¬ 
prising nurserymen, would not only prevent the denuding of 
woodlands but would also add to the horticultural and landscape 
features of hundreds of thousands of homes, and give the nur¬ 
sery business a permanent boost into the bargain. 
Let there be more Christmas trees, then, but living ones that 
will add to, not deplete our natural resources .—The Florists’ Ex¬ 
change. 
FUTURE PROSPECTS 
Sustained industrial activity is the prediction of the 
Committee on Statistics of the Chamber of Commerce of 
the United States, which today issued its regular end-of- 
the-year review of business and crop conditions. 
The Committee emphasizes the hopefulness of the 
manufacturing industry generally, which although en¬ 
countering constant labor troubles and shortage of fuel 
and materials, has orders in excess of its capacity for pro¬ 
duction within any reasonable time. 
“Among the vast numbers of retail dealers” says the 
report “there seems to be a confidence in the continuation, 
at least until another harvest, of the present great demand 
for commodities of all kinds, because of the unexampled 
strength of the agricultural situation. 
“On the whole the farming communities are pros¬ 
perous. because of the high prices of their products and 
their liberal spending is the back-bone and sustaining 
power of the present volume of business in much the 
greater nart of the country. The farmer is buying liber¬ 
ally and intelligently. He is buying more automobiles, 
more tractors, more poultry, more blooded cattle, more 
farm implements and machinery, more gasoline engines 
and electric lighting plants for his dwelling house and 
buildings. He is paving cash mostly and also paying off 
what comparatively few mortgages remain.” 
OHIO NURSERYMEN TO MEET 
The nursery stock situation will be one of the important 
topics up for consideration at a meeting of Ohio nursery¬ 
men in connection with the annual farmers’ week pro¬ 
gram at the Ohio State University from January 26 to 30. 
The nurserymen’s program comes on January 28 when 
TT. S. Dav. of Fremont, Ohio, and T. R. West, of Perry, 
Ohio, will speak. 
From F. C. Dean, Ohio State University, 
Columbus, Ohio. 
T. E. Malin, manager of the Fancher Creek Nurseries 
writes:— 
The demand for nursery stock this season has been be¬ 
yond all expectations and all nurserymen along the Pacific 
Coast are sold up practically at this time in fruit trees, 
grape vines and small fruits. 
The ornamental business does not begin until some time 
in January or February and from present indications the 
ornamental men will have a record season. 
As you are well aware the nurserymen two years ago 
who planted fruit trees and stock for budding and graft¬ 
ing were not justified in planting more than the normal 
demand, as we were then actively engaged in war and 
every man was trying to do his patriotic duty by using his 
money for government bonds and subscriptions. Since 
the war has ceased there has been an active demand for 
all kinds of fruit and grape lands throughout the Pacific 
Coast. Manv large tracts are being subdivided and the 
normal stock in the hands of the nurserymen for planting 
this year has not satisfied the demand. 
