The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-04-02
ARBOR DAY. IT'S FOUNDER.

!
ARBOR DAY, IT'S FOUNDER.
Remarkable Spread of the Tree Planting
Movement, Which Began in 1872.
Correspondence of THE HERALD.
WASHINGTON, March 2s.-The institu-
j. Sterling Morton of Nebraska, now
secretary of agriculture in Mr.. Cleve-
lands cabinet, has reached its majority,
SO to speak. Twentyone years ago or
more, specifically, on January 4, 1872.
Mr.. Morton introduced and the Nebraska
state board of agriculture passed a reso-
luton urging the people of that state to
plant trees on Wednesday, the 10th of the
following April. The board supported
its resolution with offers of premiums for
the largest number OF trees properly
planted in any one county and by any one
person. The resolution was, of course,
not mandatory. nor had it the support of
any action by the legislature, but the
people OF Nebraska responded by plant
ng on the day indicated more than 1,000,
OOo trees.
The outcome of Mr.. Morton IS resolu-
ton has been perhaps the most wide
spread movement that has resulted from
the action of an agricultural board. The
people voluntarily observed the day in
IS 9, and Governor Robert w. Furnas in
1e74 made official proclamation recon-
mending to the people that they again
observe the day and petition the state leg
islrture to make IL legal holiday. For
the next eleven years the inhabitants OF
Nebraska celebrated Arbor day with con-
Lotto info hut
until 1885 that the legislature took official
action in the matter Then the date was
changed to April %, and the occasion
made a legal holiday.
Long before this, however, other states
and especially those in the central arid
region, had followed Nebraska's example
in naming public Arbor day, most of
them by direct legislative enactment.
Thence the interest spread east, west
north and south, so that by the time Ne
braska'S tardy legislature had seconded
the governors and the board of agricul-
ture, millions of new trees were growing
in widely, sundered regions. Secretary
Morton quotes Ex-Governor Furnas, now
secretary of the state board of agricnl-
ture, as estimating that since the estab-
lishment of Arbor Day there have been
planted on that anniversary in Nebraska
alone 4),O00, 900 trees. Ex-Governor
Furnas himself writes: S'Since the in
auguratlon of the day in this state, it has
been instrumental in planting trees on
our naturally treeless prairles numbering
into the billions. Nearly all the states IN
the Union have adopted it. In foreign
countries, England, France, Germany
and Scotland have followed. The work
of tree planting inspired by the existence
OF Arbor Day is simply wonderful
The literature of ArbOr day throughout
the world has grown almost into library.
Pamphlets, newspaper articles, speeches
and lectures upon the subject have been
published by hundreds. Experts have
studied the arboreal eeds OF many states,
and minute instructions as to the best
trees TO plant, methods of planting and
the best time TO plant, have been issued
III nearly every state and territory. The
friends of tree planting in Nebraska took
the trouble five years ago to commemo-
rate the institution OF Arbor day by issu-
ing a bound volume giving a history Of
the movement up to that time. An inter-
esting portrait OF Mr.. Morton forms the
trontisplece of the work and TO him the
book is dedicated. James Russell Lowell
George William Curtis, George Ell. Baker,
John Boyle O'Reiiiey, John Burroughs,
Edward Everett Hale and Thomas F
Bayard contributed TO the volume of let
ters in praise of Arbor day, and Edith NJ
Thomas and Edmund Clarence Sredman
wrote poems Tor the work. Up to that
time Nebraska had planted more than
800 COO, COO trees, and the aggregate
planted throughout the United States had
reached number that battles the imagi-
nation.
Most of the states and territories now
celebrate Arbor Day in April In some
parts OF the country this IS too early in
| the season In the mountainous region of
Colorado, for example, it is practically
impossible to plant trees before May, be-
cause Of the deep SHOWS and hard irosts
Several states have altered the date Of
Arbor Day upon finding that it fell too
early to suit climatic conditions. Many
states provide for special observance OF
Arb0r Day IN theschoois and the planting
Of ''class trees by college classes, an
ancient custom, has been revived and ex-
tended. All literature has been ransacked
Tor appropriate poems to be recited and
songs 10 be sung as part of the ceremonial
OF. Arbor Day. This year will see probably
40, 600, 00e trees planted on the several an
niversaries throughout the union. Al
ready Nebraska's newly planted trees
would form a dense forest covering at
least 400 square miles.
While the movement has thus spread
far beyond the bounds OF Nebraska. the
interest OF Nebraskans in Arbor Day con-
tinues to be matter of special pride.
Several of the most active in the early
dIDOC Lay iHOb6LeHt nave adopted en-
biematlc devices for their letter heads, by
way Of commemoratlng the anniversary.
Secretary Morton, whose home, .sArbor
Lodge, - near Nebraska City, is on the
farm he originally settled upon when he
first went to Nebraska more than thirty
years ago, has for his letter head green
trees standing in green sward over
scroll bearing the motto "Plant Trees. ,,
FIX Governor Furnas has for letter head
a somewhat similar tree and sward with
Forest Park Place. the name OF his
homestead, over the emblem, his own
name beneath. Mr.. Furnas appropri-
ately uses green ink on his typewriter, e
piece Of consistency that Secretary Nor
ton has not thought it worth while to
follow.
EDWARD N. VALLANDIGHAM.
Salt TaIza Napchaurc EzEyHyTzR