Title: Fireproofing Your Christmas Tree Part 1
Categories: Info Holiday Gift
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I thought I'd pass along a recipe I got from a chemist at Dupont Labs in Wilmington, DEL. This will completely fireproof your live evergreen Christmas tree! Also included are a few tips on purchasing your tree.

First, I'll list the ingredients you'll need...and where to find them!

Karo Syrup -------------- local supermarket Epsom Salt -------------- local drug store A can of "Boraxo" ------- local supermarket Liquid Chlorine Bleach -- local supermarket Chelated Iron ----------- local nursery or plant shop

You'll also need a 2 gallon bucket or a few 1 gallon milk jugs.

Before we make go into making the solution, here area few hints for choosing the freshest tree. Keep in mind that most trees are cut six to ten weeks before you see them on the lots. But, thats only one problem. Most Christmas trees are sprayed with a green dye about 2 weeks before they are cut and shipped to the market. This dye is sprayed on ALL trees, the good, the bad and the ugly, making it hard for you to tell which is a healthy tree and which is not. However, all is not lost!

When you're shopping for your tree, find and narrow your choices to a few trees that meet your needs for height and fullness. Then find the "bad" side of each tree and try to snap a very small branch with your fingers. This should be done at the bottom of the tree since this is the first place water would be in short supply. If the branch snaps easily, know right away that the tissue is dead and will be the same for the rest of the tree. DO NOT BUY THIS TREE!!

If however, the branch doesn't snap easily, it's a good indication that the tissue is very much alive. But, don't stop there. Snap the branch anyway and look at the woody tissue under the bark. If the color is white or pale green, then the tissue is alive and the tree is healthy. If the wood looks to be brown or close to it, that means the tissue is in the process of dying, in which case you DO NOT want to buy that tree. No matter what, ALWAYS BUY A TREE THAT HAS LIVE TISSUE, either white or pale green. This means that the homemade preservative we're about to make will fireproof it!

Now that you've found a healthy tree, it's time to fireproof it for use in your home!

1. Once you get home with your new tree, get a saw and IMMEDIATELY make a fresh cut at the base of the tree trunk. This is MANDATORY for any tree you've bought. Make your cut about an inch above the bottom of the trunk.

2. Next, you'll need a place to store you're tree for a few days before taking it into your home as it takes a few days for the preservative to fully saturate the tree. An ideal place would be the carport/garage or possible a balcony for apartment dwellers.

3. Immediately after making your cut at the bottom of the tree, mix your homemade preservative as follows...

Into a 2 gallon bucket, add HOT WATER from the kitchen tap. Fill the bucket to within an inch or so of the top then add the following ingredients:

... two cups of Karo syrup ... two ounces of liquid chlorine bleach ... two pinches of epsom salt ... one-half teaspoon of Boraxo ... one teaspoon of chelated iron (pronounced KEY-lated)

Stir these ingredients thoroughly in the bucket, then IMMEDIATELY stand the trunk of the tree in this solution. Leave the tree in the bucket for a day or two until you're ready to take it indoors and decorate it!

4. After taking the tree indoors, make sure to put it in a stand with a "well" at the bottom. Once the tree is secured in it's final resting place, get the bucket containing your preservative and FILL THE WELL IN THE TREE STAND TO THE TOP.

5. Last but not least, EVERY DAY WITHOUT EXCEPTION, THE WELL OF THE TREE STAND MUST BE KEPT FILLED TO THE TOP WITH YOUR HOMEMADE PRESERVATIVE!

That's all there is to it. If you follow these steps faithfully, you will have a completely FIREPROOFED Christmas Tree to enjoy throughout the holidays!

Posted for your holiday safety by The WEE Scot -- paul macGregor

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