CHRISTMAS TREES-THE INDUSTRY

ARTHUR M. SOWDER.

Nearly all species of evergreens are used for Christmas trees. Availability, cost, and sentiment are among the points that most people have in mind when they buy Christmas trees. Other attributes that make a tree desirable are its retention of needles or foliage after it is cut, especially when it is placed indoors; its pyramidal, compact shape; ample nonprickly, deep-green foliage; limb strength sufficient to support the ornaments and electric lights; pliable branches (so that they can be tied compactly for shipment) ; and fragrance.

The States bordering Canada, except North Dakota, produce most of our Christmas trees.

Recent estimates of the cut of the Christmas trees in 11 Northeastern and Middle Atlantic States were 6,428,000; 3 Lake States, 5,200,000; the 5 Central States, 207,500; 14 Southern States, 3,163,500; 4 Prairie States, 5,000; 6 southern Rocky Mountain States, 150,000; 5 Pacific Coast and Northwest States, 6,296,400 a total of 21,450,400 trees.

Montana, the only State to report production figures over a period of years, in one season shipped trees to 31 States, among them Illinois, 545,000 trees; Iowa, 285,000; Kansas, 180,000; Missouri, 175,000; Texas, 150,000; Nebraska, 145,000; Minnesota, 135,000; Oklahoma, 110,000; Washington, 100,000; California, 90,000; New York and Maryland, 5,000 each. Even Cuba received a supply of Montana-grown evergreens. Under normal conditions, Montana can probably maintain an annual output of 3 million trees, which it reached in 1943, 1946, and 1948.

Most of the 21,450,400 trees harvested came from privately owned lands. About 13 percent were cut from public lands Federal, State, and county. Of the 87 percent from private lands, the numbers of trees from farm woodland and from nonfarm or industrial lands are about equally divided. In Montana, during a recent year, 83 percent of the trees were cut from privately owned woodlands, 10 percent from Federal lands, and 7 percent from State lands. In the Northeastern States, most of the trees are taken from naturally forested areas or from pasture lands upon which the trees encroached.

Of the 13 percent from public lands, about 1 million trees come from national forests, 1.5 million from State and county lands, and a small number from other Federal lands. Established plantations yield approximately 1.5 million trees a year.

More than 5 million trees are imported annually. In 1947, the figure was 6,808,158 trees, valued at $1,909,167. Nearly all of the trees are shipped in from Canada, but a few have been imported from Newfoundland, Labrador, and the Dominican Republic. Some tree dealers in the United States own or lease forested areas in Canada for cutting Christmas trees.

Thus the total number of Christmas trees distributed in the United States is about 28 million.

About half the trees are shipped by rail and half by highway. A few are moved over water even fewer are shipped by air.

The most common size of tree is 5 to 7 feet, for homes; but the trees range from a foot or two, for tables, to those 20 feet or more tall, which are used in schools, churches, business houses, hotels, and so on. One of the largest Christmas trees ever brought in from the forest was placed in Pershing Square in Los Angeles for Christmas 1948. It was a 67-year-old white fir that measured 96 feet, 2 inches tall.

Trees 30 to 70 feet high can be "made" by attaching short sections of water pipes, spoke fashion, to a telephone pole and fitting small trees into the pipes. The pipes are welded to heavy metal bands; the bands, in turn, are bolted to the pole at intervals.

Supply and demand, the species, and the degree to which the trees possess the desired characteristics determine prices. On the basis of prices reported in various sections of the country, the trees produced in a recent year would make a 20- to 50-million dollar industry, according to whether values are based on the wholesale or retail prices quoted. An estimate of 6 million dollars has been placed on the value of the trees at the roadside or the railroad siding. A carload of trees on a rail siding in Montana represents an estimated 80 to 100 man-hours of work.

The 3 months before Christmas are the busy ones in the industry. In summer and early fall, the trees are located, the contracts are let, the markets canvassed to obtain estimates on demand, woods labor hired, and plans laid for transportation. The trees later are selected, cut, moved to the woods concentration yard, and then sorted, graded, often tagged, bundled, butt-trimmed, hauled to a shipping center, and then transported to markets.

A typical large operation will find the harvesting crews in the woods by October, and occasionally even earlier. Ax, hatchet, or pruning saw are the common tools used to sever the stems. The trees are carried or dragged by hand (or occasionally hauled by horse or tractor) to the concentration yard in the woods. One man can cut and yard about 200 trees a day. A wooden frame is used to hold the trees while they are tied into bundles to aid shipping and to prevent excessive drying. A bundle may contain 10 or 12 trees of 4 feet or less, or one large tree. In the rack, the butt ends of the trees are squared to present a neat appearance, facilitate handling, and make the ends ready for use in stands. After cutting and before leaving the woods, the trees are kept as cool and damp as possible, but they must be hauled out before deep snow becomes a handicap. An operator in Minnesota harvests almost the year around by placing the trees in cold storage as soon as possible after cutting and processing.

From the concentration yards, the bundles of trees are loaded on trucks or sleds for their journey from the woods to the rail- or truck-shipping points. The trees shipped by rail are usually loaded into boxcars or flat cars. A carload varies from 1,000 to 4,000 trees. A 3-ton truck can haul from 500 to 1,200 trees.

Farmers contribute trees and labor to the industry. In Montana, the sale of wild-grown Christmas trees adds nearly a million dollars annually to the farm income. Farmers favor this forest crop because of the good returns for their labor, short rotation, low capital investment, and the fact that the harvest season interferes little with other farming activities. Farmers who cannot market their own trees often sell them to contractors at roadside or rail siding.

Several Christmas-tree companies handle most of the cut and distribution of Christmas trees. Company representatives contract with woodland owners or growers for roadside or railroad-siding delivery.

Problems of marketing include the impermanence of some operators and trespass by irresponsible persons who, in years when the venture looks profitable, remove trees without permission. Some States now have rigid trespass laws. Another problem : Christmas trees sometimes are not cut according to good forest practices. Indiscriminate cutting leaves trees of poor quality.

In some States an effort has been made to develop standardized grade classifications with graduated prices. Careful grading could result in utilizing trees that are not perfectly symmetrical. For example, a tree to be placed against a wall or in a corner need not be full on all sides.

Trees cut from national forests may bear a tag with the following statement : "This tree brings a Christmas message from the great outdoors. Its cutting was not destructive but gave needed room for neighboring trees to grow faster and better. It was cut under the supervision of the U. S. Forest Service on the National Forest."

Many Christmas-tree growers and producers attach tags to trees to indicate species and height class. This is a means also of identifying the places where the trees were grown and can be an aid in stamping out trespass and theft. Minnesota requires that a vender's tag be attached to every Christmas tree sold in the State.