they are not as hard to handle as the spruces with their sharp

A Christmas tree may be a fir, a spruce, a pine or some other evergreen that is common in any particular region.

Trees that are most commonly used as Christmas trees throughout the country are spruces or firs. These two make up the bulk that are shipped to practically all parts of the United States. The balsam fir, Abies balsamea, is the most popular. It grows naturally in the northeastern part of the United States, west to the Great Lake states in the middle West and Canada, and south as far as Virginia in the higher elevations.

The balsam fir is by far the best kind to use indoors as a Christmas tree. It grows quickly and is a good shipper. Harvesting is begun in November when the woodsmen start cutting the trees and carting them away. They are then bundled and loaded on freight cars and started to their destinations to the various parts of the country. Many trees arrive in the cities around the first part of December, with the bulk of the shipments coming in around the middle of the month.

The balsam fir is a sturdy, upright tree with soft, flat, light green needles. These firs do not shed their needles as do the hemlocks and spruces, and this makes them an ideal tree for Christmas decoration indoors. The needles turn to a golden brown color after they have dried up without falling off. Balsam fir needles are delightfully fragrant and are often dried and used for pillows. etc. The bark of the tree is also a beautiful grayish color.

To keep your tree fresh, it is helpful if you can place the bottom of the trunk in water while it is serving its purpose as a decoration. There are on the market special tree holders that will hold a quantity of water and these containers should be kept filled at all times. Before setting up your tree, make a new cut on the bottom of the trunk and also strip off several inches of bark on the lower end which will rest in the water. This will allow the tree to absorb the water. It is said that the addition of sugar to the water will have a preservative effect. (Use about a cup and a half of sugar per gallon of water.)

The Canadian and Carolina hemlock are often used for Christmas trees, as well as various spruces. The chief drawback to these varieties is that they do not retain their needles for any length of time. They will shed their needles within a few days after being brought into a hot room. There are, however, many spruces especially grown for the Christmas trees. Many are harvested when they are about 18 to 24 inches in height and dipped in different colored dyes. These are also shipped throughout a good part of the States.

The pines are also becoming more popular as Christmas trees. The best for this use is the white pine with its soft, light, grayish-green needles. A tree of this sort, about five to eight feet in height, makes a beautiful tree if it had plenty of room to grow, and was not crowded by others. The pines are, however, more open and informal than the firs and spruces, and like the firs, their needles will dry on the trees without shedding to the extent that the hemlocks and spruces do. Then, too, they are not as hard to handle as the spruces with their sharp, stiff needles.

Going farther south, the Fraser balsam fir, Abies fraseri, is widely used. This tree resembles its northern cousin, the balsam fir, but is native to the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee where it grows abundantly in the higher elevations. From this region it is harvested and shipped throughout the Southern states. The Carolina hemlock is used in this region, too, but like the Canadian hemlock, it sheds its needles rapidly. Although its range of growth is more limited than the Canadian hemlock, it is considered to be a handsomer tree. It grows most abundantly in the mountains from Virginia to northern Georgia. Another tree commonly used in the South is the southern red spruce, Picea rubens. It grows abundantly in the Appalachian areas from Canada to Georgia.

Out West, the Douglas fir is widely used. These are shipped from the Rocky Mountain areas. This handsome evergreen, Pseudotsuga taxifolia, is also commonly called the Douglas spruce, red fir or red spruce. The needles are from 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches long. flat and dark green. Another fir commonly used in this region is the silver fir, Abies concolor. It is a very ornamental tree, having long, flat bluish green needles. Picea pungens, blue spruce or Colorado spruce, is also widely used in this region. It makes a beautiful living Christmas tree when planted in a tub - and can be used in almost any part of the country for this purpose.

A living tree planted in the lawn or about the home grounds can also be used as an outdoor Christmas tree complete with landscape lighting to draw attention. Many home owners make use of such a tree and decorate it with colored lights which make a lovely effect. Spruce trees, such as Norway spruce, blue spruce, red spruce or white spruce, adapt themselves very well for this purpose. If you are planting a tree with this in mind, do not plant a balsam fir because it will not adapt itself to city or many suburban conditions, as it grows best only in its native environs of the cool, moist forest.

It is said that the custom of using an evergreen tree for decorations was brought to America by German immigrants or by the Hessian soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War. The selling of Christmas trees was first started in New York in the early 1850s when several loads of trees were brought to New York City on sleds from the Catskills and sold on the streets of that city.

At first, before the custom was established, it was considered a waste of our trees and not a good practice of conservation to cut all of these trees for decorative purposes. There are now millions of trees grown just for this purpose, and methods of conservation and preservation of our watersheds and woodlands are practiced. At the same instance this industry gives employment to many persons as well as giving an added income from many a farm woodlot. There is no other use of a tree that contributes more to the joy of man than does the Christmas tree.