Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 11 · column 1 of 8 · from the scan, no model involved
By MICHELE MAY *MMh«woch Nm Staff Writer
For a few hardy men the Christmas season seems to start in March. These are the county’s tree farmers who care for the tiny seedlings from which future Tannenbaums will spring.
The planting of the pines is the beginning of a time consuming process which takes several years to complete.
As with other agricultural endeavors a sudden onslaught of unfriendly weather can ruin the whole thing.
Local growers are planting extra seedlings this year to make up for last summer’s drought. Frank McWhirt of Amissville says he lost 46 percent of his trees. He had put in 234 last year of which he was replacing 91 this week. “I never had a drought like this before,” he remarked Monday, noting that the gravelly soil on some of his land won’t hold moisture. This made it especially hard on last yew’s batch of trees. “Yeah,” he repeats, “I didn’t like that drought.”
The harsh winter was another worry. McWhirt points to what would have been a beautiful six foot tall Christmas tree at the top of
83.8%