The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-07
AN ARBOR DAY IN INDIANA.
The Necessity and Beauty Of Economic
and Ornamental Tree-Planting.
Inculca ting the Sentiment of Trees in the
Home and SchOOl-What Has Been Done
Elsewhere in ArbOriculture
Special to the Indianapolla Journal.


SHELBYvILLE, March G-By invitation of the
officers of the State, Hon. Birdsey G. Northrup,
of Connecticut, so well known for his devotion
to the work of rural Improvement, is in Indiana
to address the people at various points upon this
subject and interest them in at Ieast the phase
of it relating to arboriculture. He delivered his
first address in this place tonight, speaking as
follows:-
The 18th day of April next has been appointed
| Arbor Day for the schools of Indiana, under the
| most favorable auspices. At the annual meeting
of the teachers of this State in Indianapolis, last
| December. an efficient committee was appointed
to secure the cooperation Of scholars, teachers,
and school superintendent in the observance of
| such a day. State Superintendent Hocomb,
| who is chairman of this committee, is giving his
personal and official influence heartily to this
| work.
| 1t may be objected to Arbor Day, OF to any
| school lessons on forestry, that the course of
| study is already overcrowded. reply that the
requisite talks on trees, their value and beauty,
need not occupy three hours, all told. Those
| talks on this subject, which Superintendent
| Peasely says We're the most interesting and
| profitable lessons the pupils of Cincinnati ever
| had in a single day, occupied only the morning
| of Arbor Day, the afternoon being given to the
| practical work. Such talks will lead our youth
| to admire noble trees, and realize that they
| are the grandest products of nature, and form
the finest drapery that adorns this earth in all
lands. Thus taught, they will wish to plant
and protect trees, and find in their own happy
| experience that there is peculiar pleasure in
the parentage of trees, whether forest, fruit, or
| ornamental-a pleasure that never clogs, but
| grows with their growth. Like grateful chill
| dren, trees bring rich hlal returns and cOmpen-
safe a thousand-fold for all the care and pains
they cost This love of trees, early implanted in
| the school and fostered in the home, will make
| our youth practical arborists.
| ee-planting is fitted to give needful lesson
of forethought to the juvenile mind Youth too
| often SOW only where they can quickly reap.
meager crop soon in hand outweighs a golden
| harvest long in maturing They should early
| learn to forecast the future as the condition of
| wisdom. Arboriculture is a constant discipline in
| foresight is always planting for the future,
| and sometimes for the distant future Teachers
'can easily interest their pupils in adorning the
school grounds. With proper Encouragement
as to the selection and procuring of trees, vines
| or shrubs, Arbor Day may accomplish wonders.
| Many hands will make merry, well light,
work. Such holiday will be an attractive oeca-
sion OF social enjoyment and improvement. The
parents should be persuaded to approve and pat
roniZe the plan. 1t tends to fratelnize the PEG
pie of a district, when they thus meet on com
mon ground and young and old work together
for common object, where all differences of
| rank. or sect, or party, are forgotten. The
| paintings and Improvements thus made will be
sure to be protected. They will remain silent,
but effective, teachers of the beautiful to all the
| pupils, gradually improving their taste and
| character. Such work. done around the
| school naturally extends to the homes.
| You improve the homes by improving the schools
| as truly as you improve the schools by improv-
ing the homes. 1.-THE hope of America is the
| homes of America" 1t has long been my ambi-
| ton to improve the homes and hOme-iife of our
| industrial classes and help them to realize that
| the highest privilege and central duty of life is
| the creation of happy homes, for the home is the
chief school of virtue, the fountain-head of indi
| vidual and national strength and prosperity 1t
| is worthy ambition to surround ones home and
children with such scenes and influences as shall
make the everyday life and labors brighter,
and happier, and help one to go sunny and sing
| ing to his work. Our youth should early share
in such efforts for adjoining the surroundings of
| their homes, and planting trees by the wayside
How attractive roads may become by long
avenues of trees. This is beautifully illustrated
| in many countries of Europe. Growing nands
otherwise running to waste such trees would
| yield ample returns The shade and beauty
| would be grateful to the traveller, but douby so
| to the planter. Having in abundance the best
trees for the roadside, class can contribute so
much to the adornment of our public roads
| the farmers. In portions of Germany the land
owner was formerly required to plant trees along
| his frontage. Happy would it be for us if our
sovereigns of the soil would each make such a law
for himself. On the Indiana Arbor Day, let every
teacher and every scholar, over ten years of age
| and through the combined influence of teacher
and scholar, each parent devote that one
day to school and home improvements, and
grand results will be accomplished When, in
\
make his own grounds and wayside neat and at
traetive, the entire town becomes so inviting as
to give new value to its wealth and new attrae-
tons to all its homes.
THE HISTORY OF THE DAY.
A brief history of Arbor Day in other States
may increase the interest in the work proposed
in Indiana on the 18th of April next In March,
1881, the Legislature of Michigan requested the
Governor to appoint an Arbor Day, and invite
the people of the State to devote it to the plant
ing of trees. Such appointment was accord
ingly made in April following, and has been re-
peated each succeeding April and as 1 am of
| ficially informed, with the happiest results
For the last two years similar day has been
appointed by the Governor of Ohio Many
schools, especially those of Cincinnati and Co
| lumbus, fifty kept the designated day. Super
intendent Peaseley, of Cincinnati, says: THE
forenoon of that day was spent in talks by the
| teachers and in reading compositions and selec-
tons by the pupils upon trees, their proper care
| and uses and in giving biographical sketches of
| persons in honor of whom the trees were planted
The Importance of forestry was there impressed
| upon the minds of thousands of children, who
| thus learned to care for and protect trees. Not
one of these 20,0 600 children in Eden Park ON
Arbor Day injured single tree They were
| encouraged by the many letters, sent them by
such eminent authors Whittier and Holiness
American Forestry Congress. at its
session in ST. Paul last August.
recommended the appointment of an Arbor Day
in all States and the British provinces of Can
ada, the congress comprising many delegates
| from the Dominion. The ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
of the Province of Quebec appointed an Arbor
Day last spring, and the Council of Public In
struction seconded this movement, and recon-
mended that the designated time be kept as
holiday and devoted to planting trees on school
and other grounds. The official proclamation
widely circulated, gave instructions for the
selection and planting of trees and predicted
tSS Of h DS w % b GnS OIL 'he
| girls will take eager share and genuine pleas
ure, and thus gain liking for trees that will
never be effaeed." Nebraska has the honor of