The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-03-30

II
especially while living, than in ali
our previous history; how much such
men are doing TO make life worth liv-
ing for themselves as we'll as for their
fellow townsmen. The treasury is
often Teplenished by prizes to those
who excel in specified lines of I'M
prOvemeut. By entertainments given
by home talents, and especially by
the efforts of ladies and the cO-opera-
ton of youths. Arbor Day is accom-
plishing broad results for town i'm
provement.
am exceedingly gratified to learn
that President Dole and other leading
officers Of the Republic favor ArbOr
Day In schools as we'll as for econt mic
purposes. ArbOr Day for economic
purposes was started by Governor j.
Sterling Morton, now secretary of the
Department Of Agriculture at Wash
ington, who has done more for the
benefit of his own State, N-5raska,
and his own town, Nebraska City,
than any other citizen Of that State;
advocating Arbor Day by pen and
tongue, being editor Of a paper and
securing the co operation Of the gov
ernor, the State Horticulture Society
and State Agriculture Society, as well
as favoriDg an act of the legislature to
encourage tree planting by liberal
prizes. On the first Arbor Day, OBJ
served twenty three years ago, accord
ing to the official returns made from
all the counties, more than l2,OOO,OO0
Of trees were planted, and that num-
Der has been exceeded on every sue
ceeding ArbOr Day. In the geOgra-
phys used twenty years ago Nebraska
was called the "Great American De-
sert." You cannot please NehTaskaus
today better than by emitting their
State the "GTeat American Desert"
L.
made habitable and ho-pitable by
tree planting and cultivation ?" The
settler who doesn't plan for tree
planting is now the exception, and
more than 1000, 600 of acres in that
state are covered by trees planted by
human hands.
have been interested to learn Of |
the work so successfully initiated by |
Commissioner Marsden as set forth in |
his last report, and to learn that from |
the King street nursery have been fur
nished, free, 9790 for economic tree |
planting, and for schools and for or
nament 300 trees, there being on |
hand 10000 fruit trees of sixteen va
rietles; 1880 timber, ornamental and /
medicinal trees; 11,75O palms, and
65l3 fiber plants. In the Makiki nurs
cry OF one acre there are 2l.OOO trees,
including 2450 oranges, 1900 persim-
mon, 5000 camphor trees, and 1000
Japanese chestnuts. Besides, there |
are 5000 in pots and boxes, including
1900 iOgwoOd, 500 Kona coffee trees
and 200 camphOr trees; also, there are
soon TO be ready many thousand of
new fibre plants of the hemp family
and sisal. These with yopr unsur-
passed Kona coffee solve the problem
how TO make small farming profitable. |
/ have been interested to view, though
at distance, the planted forests on
Tantalus, and the 200 acres so hap
PLY situated soon to be opened for a
grand nursery for this Republic. Yet,
there remains thousands Of acres of
these islands now barren and almost
worthless, which might tie, and am
confident will be at an early day re-
claimed by tree planting. You may I
need facts to show the practIcabilIty !
OF such reclamation of the most worth :
less lands. 1 have inspected 10000 :
acres on Cape Cod, Mass, now COW
cred with pine forests, which thirty {
years ago were a barren sand. blow Z
drifting sand. Joseph Storey Fay at !
Woods Halo, Mass, has nearly 300 !
acres of varied and beautiful forests {
covered largely with imported trees, J
Norway spruce, European larch and :
others. He told me when settling :
there thirty years AGO there was not u \
tree to be seen from his house. G
France furnishes the broadest DEM v
onstratiOn of the practicabilit of re- C
sterile land of any country. f
Along the Bay of Biscay for a hun
bred miles between the rivers AdOur Il
and GirUude are immense sani dunes %
of minute, finely tTichirated a
sand. The prevailing winds being n
from the west aud southwest those {
sands were driven up an inciiued Il
plane, damming rivers and devastat- o
ng the country, the dunes varying b
rom 100 To- 300 feet in height. An n
eminent arborest, Bremontaire, pro Il
posed TO the government a magniti- a
,eDt scheme for the reclamation of b
hose dunes. He erected on the whole e
.xtent for q hundred miles a double V
ine Of paling made with planks sharp %
med at one end, driven in the sand, q
placed two inches apart so that the n
and could support them on the in m
ide, the second line hundred meters
inland. Then with a movable frame | u
INNING on this plank with q clasp, b
ne fence was raised as was necessary. "a
Behind that protection he planted the e.
pine; now there are 100000 Il
ores Of rich and fertile forests aud q OF
till greater extent Of fertile laud has W
cen rescued from the devastation of u.
he incoming dunes. From this for OIL
st the French government receives pi
n annual revenue in pitch ami tur- of
entine and fuel and lumber of $780, al
% francs. In grateful recognition OF VI
services as q national Va
enefacior, the French government w
rected n grand bronze statue in his he
onor. &C
George P. Morse, who represented of
meTica at foreign courts longer than to
ny other citizen, with one exception, is
Iys OF Bremohtaire: "He is one OF w
he greatest benefactors of the human fO
Ice" This example was widely fol- of
WED in France, and Salmasius says CT
lat one million acres of desolate land M
as thus been reclaimed aud made a M
uItful source Of wealth. This eX- tn
nple has been followed widely over 80
urOpe, along the shores Of the Adri- su
nc aud the Baltic and the Mediter-