Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-08

NAAC AC saw lIIll Oil liS NICOS oA
the face of the earth, and thereafter our
Omnipotent Father planted a garden
and in the midst of it he planted two
trees-the tree of life and the tree of
knowledge-sO that in tree planting we
might say we emulate Deity in that
great gift to US. We could further say
that 1t was intended by that ~Omnipotent
mind that trees were necessary for our
well being, and that we should make the
best use of the gift.
Trees nave a classical history. The
early traditions and memories of the civ
ilized world were first inscribed with a
stylus upon the inner bark of trees,
which, in the Egyptian civilization. was
upon the inner bark of the papyrus,
which was designated by the Greek
word bibles from which last-men-
tloned term we derive the word "Bible,"
ana from the plant mentioned we are
lndebted for most of the written history
Oh ancient Greece and Egypt upon what
IS known as papyrus, which was oh
tanned by taking the inner part of the
papyrus plant. laying them lengthwise
until they constituted a fabric, then lay
ing the strips crosswise and glueing
.nem together. The Latin term for the
inner bark was "liber," from which we
aerlve the word library and which
afterwards became the Latin term for
book. The present English term for
DOCK Is derived from one of three Ian
suages-the Scandinavian, the Gothic.
or saxon, which means beech. for orr
savage ancestors did all their writing
upon beech boards, which they called
nuohi ana When the boards were COM
pletely covered with traditions. or his
tory. they would then continue their
chronology by writing upon the leaves
OF trees and placing them between the
boards, SO as to keep them intact, and
.hat IS why you so frequently hear the
PACK or the book called the boards"
me leaves OF the book, which should be
really called the sheets of the book.
!ound their name in the custom Of plac-
ing the leaves between the beech boards
and calling them the leaves Of the book.
When we return to the classical learn
ing of Greece We find hat her greatest
philosophers taught in the groves Of the
palm tree, and the greatest philosophy
the world ever knew was associated with
the pleasant shades and the beautiful
VlStaS OF the grove Academia, Where
Socrates and Plato communed with ma
ture and impaired to their teachings a
force that has made their philosophy i'm
mortal, and from the Academian grove
where they taught we derive the word
academy meaning a seat of learning.
One of those ancient philosophers said,
in speaking of the necessity and beauty
Of trees to the country, that no country
had been created in the favor of God
/ lIO trees " duOIH anu 0HlDelllSH IL.
From the word papyrus we also get he
name Of paper. papyrus being the paper
of the a%ncients.
The most noted place in Japan is called
the great Cryptomeria. 1t is one continu-
Gus bower for twenty miles. From Nikko
to the tomb Of Iyecsasu, which was plant
ted two centuries ago with cryptOmeria
trees in honor of the dead law-giver and
which one of the great travellers in refer
/ ring tn this ha9ltifl1 QThnI ca We tina +
"one might forget Japan's beautiful
mountains. her beautiful rivers and flow
ers but never could forget this beautiful
shady bower twenty miles long.
One of the most beautiful parallels in
the new testament is the parable of the
fig tree, which failed to bear fruit: and
we trust hat the school children of Mon
tana when opportunity presents itself on
Arbor day will not be like the barren fig
tree but there will be some good results.
This is the fourteenth anniversary of Ar
Dor day IN Montana, our first Arbor day
being the first Tuesday in April, 1887
We must remember when we plant trees
the trees will blossom and bear fruit ant
bees will come and the birds will inhabit
them and that no home where conditions
Will permit trees to grow can be colnplet
without them. In Butte we are unable tc
grow trees but they are of the greatest
Importance to our city. 1t is said that the
L SIVdl lIuuSlIy uj)pl WHICH We 1--WE SOull
scarcely be carried on without the use OF
trees as Butte consumes more trees anc
more lumber han any city of the worlC
having four times its population. The
secretary of agriculture in commenting
upon the Anaconda mine stated that Il
was the most appropriate name tina
could be found on account of the grea'
amount of timber it swallowed. We sci
dom stop to calculate the great value o
our timber In 1894, the only date which
I could obtain having for that year thu
value of the timber of the United State:
exceeded one billion dollars, it exceeded
the total mineral output of the United
States by five hundred million and ex'
ceeded the value of al cereals and grain!
grown in the United States by somethin.
over fifteen millions and It m st be re,
membered that this vast consumption o
timber will rapidly deplete our forests ant
/ completely destroy them unless som,
check is put upon the rapid consumption
of our forests. We must look to the schoo
children of America to assist and later t.
completely control and prevent the com
plete annihilatiOn of our beautifu forest
as with the destruction of the forest
comes the destruction Of the arabic land
below them as thew prevent the raplt
evaporation of moisture and initiate
against the heat in melting the snow
upon which tillage and cultivation mus
largely depend. The common school
must take this matter in hand and w,
must trust to them largely for the futur,
and we hope to so direct you attention
to his necessity that Arbor Day will no
be barren of good results.