Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1896 — CHRISTMAS EVERGREENS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CHRISTMAS EVERGREENS

WiSlilijSßl} VERGREENS are ‘ n & reat den? /nd durf| >ng the f /iriatmas SBi season. F u interior —— ~ Yule-tide decorations, cabbage palms are much used and are very effective. They come from Florida, and measure from 4 to 8 feet in diameter. Because of their size they are

only fitted for very large hallways or church decorations. Of course the mistletoe must not be missing among the Christmas evergreens, especially if there are young people in the family. It should be tied on a chandelier, where every pretty girl who passes under it can be easily caught and made to pay tte sweet penalty. The handsomest mistletoe has a white berry and grows on apple trees in Alabama. Holly, the great Yule-tide evergreen, is used for every' conceivable purpose—to drape picture frames and hang over doors and mirrors in wreaths and garlands. A pretty idea is to lay a garland loaded with bright red berries all around the Christmas dinner table. Holly is gathered in the New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Alabama forests and ordinarily is very plentiful. Hemlock makes a beautiful garland to drape over large mirrors, and when combined with laurel is particularly effective. Laurel alone is much used. Galax leaves, which look like wax and are shaped like an ivy leaf, are much used in combination with the swamp berry, a little bright-red berry about the size of a wild cherry. These, made into balls, look well hanging from a chandelier. Florida smilax makes a beautiful decoration hung over a mirror or draped over a doorway.