20 
PROTECT THE LAUREL 
Our mountain laurel, Kalmia lati- 
folia, is one of our most beautiful 
native shrubs, both when covered 
with its wonderful masses of pink 
and white flowers in early summer 
and during the rest of the year on 
account of its rich foliage. Being an 
evergreen, which very few of our 
native shrubs are, it makes a striking 
feature in a winter landscape. 
Laurel is distributed from Canada 
to Florida, and is a typical feature 
of our New England woods and pas- 
tures. Not occurring in other coun- 
tries, it is an essentially American 
plant, and it should be our pleasure 
and ‘duty to protect it from destruc- 
tion; but its very beauty and charm 
induce cutting to an alarming extent. 
It is gathered extensively twice a 
year. In summer the flowers are 
taken for church and house decora- 
tion. In winter the inroads are much 
more extensive and dangerous. 
Enormous quantities are then used 
for -testoons, wreaths.” Gtcike ines tue 
Christmas dressing of churches and 
the decoration of ball-rooms. As it 
is’ then cold weather,- the foliage 
keeps well, and bears transportation 
to a distance, so that the quanity col- 
lected is only limited by the demand 
and the available material. It is to be 
noted that this cutting is all from 
wild laurel growth, not from planis 
which are grown for this purpose, al- 
though it is a shrub easily cultivated. 
The flowers are borne only upon 
the ‘shoots of the previous year’s 
growth, so that,-if these are cut, a 
year’s flowering is lost ; and when look- 
ing at long festoons of laurel leaves, 
it is saddening to think of the great 
quantity of blooms that has been 
destroyed for the next summer in this 
truly extravagant winter decoration. 
The owner of a laurel swamp re- 
cently gave permission to a florist to 
ete. a “little. batirele tor «Ghristinis 
decorating.” The florist brought a 
cart, and devastated the place, so that 
there were hardly any flowers the 
next summer. Such excessive depre- 
dations on a slow-growing plant can- 
not but have a most serious effect in 
localities which are accessible to our 
large towns. 
Care for the future often involves 
sacrifice in the present. Are we not 
willing to forego some decoration of 
ball-rooms and churches for the sake 
of preserving for the enjoyment of 
future generations the beauty of our 
woods, swamps, and pastures where 
the laurel now grows? 
When laurel is to be gathered at 
all, it should be cut with a sharp 
NOR HOSE O Rens B Rey BZ 
knife, not hacked or torn off; cut in 
moderation, not in excess; cut at a 
distance from the roadsides, thus 
leaving uninjured those plants which 
from their very position give pleas- 
ure to the greatest nunber of people. 
Above all, everything possible should 
be done to check its use as a winter 
decoration — Supplied by Boston So- 
ciety of Natural History. 
MANCHESTER 
Letters remaining unclaimed at the 
Manchester; Mass., P.-O., for week 
ending Dec. 2, 1I915:—James A. 
Brooks, Chester F. Crafts, Carl Hur- 
tig, Mrs. Ramsey Hunt, Thiophio, 
Inneranda, Mrs. J. Johnson, Mrs. K. 
M. James, Nicholas Joanidas, Lester 
P. Marsh, Gilroy Rickfolk, Miss Jen- 
nie Young.—Frank A. Foster, P. M. 
3uy your wall papers from H. S. 
Tappan, 17 Bridge street, Manches- 
ter. ady. 
Men’s Elite and Ladies’ Queen 
Quality Shoes at W. R. Bell’s, Cen- 
tral sq. adv, 
Boston GRAND OPERA Co. 
The crowded houses which have 
marked the third week of the. per- 
formances of the Boston Graad 
Opera Company and the Pavlowa 
Imperial Russian Ballet at the Bos- 
ton Opera House indicate that the 
three thousand capacity of this most 
beautiful opera house in the worid 
will not be sufficient for all who wish 
to attend these remarkable perforim- 
ances during the fourth and final 
week of the opera season. 
The latter part of the present week 
will be marked by the second pre- 
sentation of the mimo-dramatic opera 
“The Dumb Girl of Portici” on Fri- 
day night, an opera in which Mlle. 
Pavlowa makes her only appearance 
as an actress as well as dancer. The 
early sale for the Saturday matinee 
of “Rigoletto,” with the accompany- 
ing suite of Spanish dances by Mlle. 
Pavlowa and the entire Russian Bai- 
Jet, promises another sold out house 
such as last Saturday afternoon. 
3ermuda has strong claims on the 
United States. It shipped here last 
year nearly 100,000 pounds of onion 
seeds. 
Imaginary troubles are the hardest 
of all to bear. 
Harry C. Howell has taken the 
agency for the sale of the daily and 
Sunday papers at the Beverly Farms 
station which was formerly handled 
by Albert Smith. 
Dee, 3, 1915. 
BEVERLY FARMS. 
Mr. and Mrs. James Maguire of 
Wilhamstown have spent the past 
week at Beverly Farms. visiting 
friends. Pep ee 
Rev. Neilson Poe Carey will en- 
tertain. the Gurls’, clubssefe iment. 
John’s church and their friends at 
Marshall’s hall next Friday evening, 
Deere! - 
Contests for Alderman-at-Large 
and for Alderman in every city ward 
were shown by the filing of the nom- 
ination papers at City hall, the time 
for so doing expiring at 5 o’clock 
Wednesday afternoon. ‘The Ward 6 
voters will be interested in the fol- 
lowing ballot from which to pick a 
choice: For Alderman-at-Large there 
are five candidates for the three 
places, as follows—C, Arthur Foster, 
George F. Goldthwait, George H. 
Hurd, George W. McNutt and Lou's 
S. Smith (Goldthwait, Smith and 
McNutt are candidates for re-elec- 
tion, Foster at present is the Alder- 
man from Ward 5 and Hurd is a 
former Alderman-at-Large). Of 
especial interest to the Beverly Farms 
voter is the contest in Ward 6 for 
the selection of an alderman. There 
are three candidates——Thomas. D. 
Connolly, a prominent business man; 
Fred W. Trowt, a former alderman, 
and Edward L. McDonnell. For 
School Committee from Ward 6. 
James B. Dow seeks re-election and 
has no opposition. 
Lucy T. ExpREDGE. 
Miss Lucy T. Eldredge died at her 
hone, 139 Valley st., Beverly Farms, 
early last Sunday morning, after a 
short illness of pneumonia, at the age 
of 55 years, 3 mos., 22 days > She 
was born at Beverly Farms and has 
lived here all her life. She “wasea 
daughter of the late Issachar T. and 
Elizabeth Eldredge. An attendant at 
the Beverly Farms Baptist chu“ch, 
Miss Eldredge was known by nearly 
everyone who lives here. No one 
was more respected or had a larger 
circle of riends, and she was sincere- 
ly loved by those who were near to 
her. All her life she has been thought- 
ful of the comfort and happiness cf 
others and was continually doing acts 
of kindness. The sympathy of the 
community goes out to her brother, 
I. Frank Eldredge, with whom she 
lived. Funeral services were held 
Tuesday afternoon at her late hoe, 
conducted by the pastor of the Ber- 
erly Farms Baptist church, and amid 
beautiful flowers she was buried in 
the family lot at the Beverly Farms 
CemMetoey. 
