Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1963 THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA PAGE THREE Dusk has fallen ■ Across the land the shops are closed ■ the streets are almost deserted ■ But in every home the tree is dressed and lighted and all over America another Christmas has come ■ May it be a gentle Christmas for all ■ May it bring peace and health and bounty ■ May it truly be a cherished Christmas for you ■ MERRY CHRISTMAS SHEALY MOTOR COMPANY PROSPERITY, S. C. NEWBERRY, S. C. ITS ALWAYS A “GRAND OPINING”... A It comes at this time every year! We carefully unwrap the glittering ornaments and bedeck the tree with brightness. As you unwrap your treasured decora tions, we pause to unwrap our special wish for you • • • We wish you health and happiness and a sincere, “Merry Christmas.’ Pat Plant Is Popular Gift The poinsettia is the traditional Christmas plant, yet an upsurge in the popularity of indoor gar dening has brought a number of flowering plants into the gift pic ture, Flowering plants in porous clay pots that preserve their health and beauty will highlight many a gift list this season. Among the popular pot plants is the Jerusalem cherry. Its round, red fruit is especially appropriate for the holiday season. It needs bright light and likes a cool tem perature no higher than 55 de grees at night for best results, although it does admirably even with a 65 degree night tempera ture. If the plant is allowed to wilt or if cooking gas fumes fill the air, the fruit will drop. Cyclamen The cyclamen is a handsome plant even when not in bloom, but the blossoms are breathtaking —like Venetian glass exquisitely formed in the shape of butterflies that are white, red, pink, laven der, rose, maroon. This needs a cool 55 degree night temperature too. Water is safer from the base of the clay pot so the crown is not over-moistened, thus inviting rot. Azaleas are popular. There are both tender kinds that must be brought indoors each winter, and hardy kinds that can be plunged — clay pot and all — out in the garden permanently next spring. The tender kinds are like minia ture trees in shape. The hardy ones branch out closer to the ground like shrubs. Your nursery, garden center, or florist can tell you whether the one you select is hardy or not. Lasting Beauty Primroses have blossoms that look like pastel Christmas can dles. Select plants with lots of buds so you will have a profusion of bloom over many weeks. New buds will continue to develop if plants are watered and fed regu larly and if temperature in the room is below 65 degrees at night. The Christmas pepper is han dled much the same as the Jeru salem cherry. Among smaller plants, kalanchoe and African vio lets are tops for Christmas. A white flowering African violet in a red clay pot, dressed up with a bright red bow seems ideally suited for Christmas. And the kalanchoe’s brilliant orange-red blossoms sparkle like tree lights. Both plants are good long-term investment for any gardener. Scientist Not Satisfied With Native Holly Of all the traditional, always- the-same symbols of Christmas, you might think that holly is most unchangeable. But a plant breeder at Rutgers University’s College of Agricul ture says “no,”—there’s room for improvement in holly. He’s not out to change the symbolism of holly, whatever that may be, but only the plant itself. Dr. Elwin R. Orton is talking about American holly—ilex opaca —that grows best in New Jersey and the East, not English holly. Most of the English holly avail able at Christmas comes from the Pacific Northwest. Variations But there are tremendous vari ations within the American spe cies in color, glossiness of leaves, bearing habits of berries and other characteristics. And it lives through cold winters that can kill the less hardy English holly. Dr. Orton’s holly-breeding proj ect began with selection of male and female plants with character istics that might improve the species, then cross-pollination ac cording to time-tested methods. Harvesting the berries was easy enough. But each berry contains four seeds with extremely hard coats. Normally, in wild state, a holly seed takes as long as three years to germinate. Still Takes Thne Successful experiments com pressed this time to 14 months, yet it’s still two and a quarter years from time of planting the seed until the new plant is 15 inches high and big enough for results to be seen. Complicating this situation is the fact that some plants don’t begin to show desir able characteristics — put their best foot forward—until after four or five years. New sorts will be worth waiting for, but meanwhile, Dr. Orton suggests, enjoy whatever kind of holly you can get, American or English. Even a sprig in the plum pudding helps preserve the tra dition. CHRISTMAS TAMALES A popular Christmas dish in Central America is tamales or nacatamales. Nacatamales are carefully prepared and cooked for several hours. The “stuffing” is made from finely ground corn meal, turkey, vegetables, spices and seasonings. In quantities of about one pound, the stuffing is wrapped in banana leaves and then boiled or steamed for several hours. Every year at this time we look forward to wishing you the very best if s a custom we hope will last for a very long time. Our deepest appreciation for your loyalty and our heartiest HI 1R, JR. H WHITAKER FLOOR COVERINGS 1011 CALDWELL STREET Newberry, South Carolina .ow In the hurry and confusion of the fleet ing year we are come upon the unforgettable season of Christmas. ^ Christmas... older than vanished time still comes ringing down thru the long centuries to unlock the hearts of men and revive the miracle of hope again. This is the miracle of Christmas... That Christ mas is something that happens to the heart •.. that along with love and hope Christmas easts and dwells within the human heart. May your heart and the hearts of all those dear to you be filled with the joyous miracle of Christmas. Slog and peace i«s NEWBERRY LUMBER CO. 913 CLINE STREET NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA We will be closed Wednesday, December 25 through Saturday, December 28, and will reopen Mon day, December 30. We will also be closed Wednesday, January I, 1964.