The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-04-21
Mnbor Day.
THE GREAT VALUE OF TREES.

The governor of Minnesota has appoint
ed Friday, April 26, Arbor day. Arbor
day is legal holiday in Minnesota, Wis
consn, North Dakota, Wyoming and
Arizona, the day being set apart by the
governor; in Texas, Feb. 49, in Nebraska,
April %; Montana, May 8; Utah, April
10; Rhode Island, May II; Florida, first
Friday In February; Georgia. first Friday
in December; Colorado, third Friday IN
April and a school holiday; Idaho, first
Friday after May 1. and school hoH-
day.
The mission of Arbor day is to foster
affection for trees which wastefulness
tends to depreciate. Its mission is also
to resupply the waste.
The honor of proposing that a daA<%
set aside to the duty of tree planting be-
longs to j. Sterling Morton, statesman
farmer of Nebraska, and secretary OF
agriculture under President Cleveland.
Many years ago, when he located near
Nebraska City, and laid out his home
acres and gave them the name of Arbor
Lodge, there were few groves, except
scattered clumps and fringes Of cotton
wood and scrub oak along the Missouri
river. AT a meeting OF the State Agri-
cultural society, JAN 4, 1872, he introduce
ed resolution setting part April 10, 1872.
as day to be devoted to tree planting,
and prize of 500 was offered to the
county agricultural society that PLANTED
the largest number of trees, and S25 to
the individual who planted the largest
grove This was unanimously adopted
Inc newspapers took hold of 1t, school
boards and village councils favored II
and planting the tree" became a duty
and work of love in Nebraska. Counties
offered bounties to tree planters. and To
inquire or destroy a tree became a serious
offenSe.
In 1855 the legislature passed a law
making Arbor day a legal holiday IN that
STATE ana named April %, that being the
s'iiiilv eIsary OF MI Mortons birth, and so
NE shares in his adopted state the dis
tnct1on of having his birthday like thai
Oh washington and Lincoln, observed as
a legal holiday.
mere are many good reasons whv Ar
Dor day should receive practical recoenI-
'loil wherever possible. The value of trees
eaHilot Wen be estimated IT Is claimed
eileI Ire destructive foods that have been
5,p teiGeu IN recent years are mainly
uue 10 the destruction of the mountoI,,
forests. 1t is also said that the Terrible
storms that have visited MANY sectton.
@ o. cduseu oy the same reasons. and thai
1no uioutnS are also mainly caused nv thu
rapidly disappearing forests which 90
Such great conseryators of moisture A.
cor oay can be made a source Of nooroI
Instruction, as well as of material hene-
~. Nature studies are morally whole
- epey help cultivate the sense or
rove OF the beautiful The tree n,o,+o.
becomes in many senses = n,,bIia pi f..o
FACTOR He not only does worlr fo, ~
present generation, but for genera tions
to come. e0nei IONS
an author1ty has we'll said regarding
Clie advantages of Arbor day that 20 t,.oo
sentiment will be created and estaI;ist,
Gu wdilch will lead us to recogniza ona
1iellsh the trees as friends and While
1 W. eiidh freely make use of them in tho
go arts and industries of Hf. Wa
snail De mindful of their valve in otber
respects and find constant dcligh+ -
thelr companionship" In manv oo,,,.
IIles the custom of planting trees -
marx special events is well known on5
III Japan the birth Of a child is tho
commemorated. The sapling is carAfnl1n
tehoed until 1t is fully grown, and when
me Cni,d IS grown UP and about to ne
married 1t is cut down and ma1a irto
couple SouHS
oayard Taylor says: 1.-THE planting of
d Tree, the tender care bestowed upon if
the eager watching for new devaIon,
ments In Its growth, the tending ~ a
mower bed, the training of a vine will
lot many child prove the open sesame,
lnlo Inc charmed circle Of those forces
anu factors OF the natural world which
man. The process itself cannot b. indi-
cateo. 1t Is secret, silent, past finding
out. 1t Is a growth-that subtle some.
thlng which is forever escaping the
clutch Of the keenest investigator onIv
TO md easy access to the soul Of him
VINO hath eyes to see and ears 20 hear
what Is revealed Of the Infinite In the
hnlte order Of creation. Wordsworth
says:
That touch each other to the eN o1sic are
modes ia
Which the gross world no sense hath to
perceive, ~
No soul to dream of.
Ihough we may not analyze these novs
ferrous powers which touch us at every
point or our natural environment, quick
enlng our impulses warming orr affno.
lions, exaltfng our thoughts. purifying
our tastes, enlightening our whole
nelhg' we know enough Of them to prize
e-AO4Ai a. IiiCA1 Aull value. NOR is this
beyond the range of the practical
For what Is more truly, more wisely prac
tical than to set In operation forces
and influences that will contribute to the
personal happiness and comfort of the
individual? What more practical than
to Introduce into our homes an appre-
ciative sense of the beautiful, the health
ful, the useful in nature? It Is but a
step from the school to the home, and it
ha a vi Of
TO make that step as fraught with
benefcent results as it is possible tn cf-
feet in the school
"A right feeling for nature means IN
finitely more than the planting of trees.
BY necessary law of associa ton it en-
braces wide range of conditions in our
everyday life 1t means a greater ex-