season.

But for Quebec Balsam boss Gerard Couture it's a year-long slog topped off with a mad rush at Christmas requiring the logistical expertise of a D-Day general.

His firm will provide around 50 percent of the Island's 15,000 or so festive firs this year and his goal is to create the perfect Christmas tree. After being nursed for five years the trees are finally planted in a field and sheared periodically to give them the traditional triangular shape.

"We start preparing to harvest a tree two years before we do it.

"We lay off the shearing a little bit to give the tree a natural look -you don't want a too artificial looking tree. To cut down on the risk of bugs and disease we remove weeds and when we've cut the trees we remove the stumps and let the land rest so the good bugs can prosper. It costs more but it's good practice and we have lots of land.'' "We work with Agriculture Canada and I take a lot of courses in the USA. I often ask consultants to come over and give us advice on herbicides and soil science.'' The firm also has the creation of a attractive trees down to a science with samples from trees with good characteristics used to artificially inseminate others.

It's Christmas crunch time for Gerard However what makes a pretty tree is a subjective thing.

Mr. Couture said: "I like to see through the Christmas Tree but what we sell is the high density tree with a nice blue shine. What sells a tree is the top -- you need a defined point.'' And the nice triangular shape of Quebec Balsam's trees was undoubtedly one of the reasons the company won the Canadian National Christmas Tree competition in 1997 and 1998.

His colleague Kevin Frost says the natural tree is still holding its own against its imitation rival.

"People go through phases. When they have young children they buy a natural one but as the children fly the nest they may get an artificial tree.

"However once the grandchildren start coming round they go for a real one again.'' The company specialise in Balsams which are prized for their full, dense form, colour and needle retention though they also deal in Fraser Firs which have less aroma.

Mr. Couture is a great believer in getting the trees to the customer soon after they've been cut -- a process that involves 15 to 20 men working 12 hours a day, seven days a week during the eight week Christmas rush.

A team of just three men can cut and string 1,200 trees a day.

He says: "If we cut on Thursday morning we can load it Thursday night and have it arrive in Bermuda on Sunday so people get a nice fresh tree.

If it snows the work can be a lot harder. Mr. Frost explained: "Sometimes we cut trees down but when can't find where we put them. We have to stomp around until we fall over them.'' Ready for inspection: Canadian Christmas tree grower Gerald Couture will ship 125,000 Christmas trees this year. And around 50 percent of Bermuda's festive firs will come from his Quebec sites.