The Republican journal., 1902-05-01
ARBOR DAY.

Fast Day and Albor Day are neal
uelghbors in the calendar Tie first
has lost its signilicance; the latter is
growing i'm Importance OF should do so.
Fast Day is no longer day for fasting
and prayer. as originally intended. No
one tasts, there are no religious OBJ
servances. 1t has become holiday,
pure ard simple Arbor Day may be
classified as business proposition. 1t
is designed to arrest the destruction of
our forests, to beautlty our streets and
our homes. The early settlers regard
ed trees as their enemies, and Waged
relentless war upon them i'll making
cIearings for their farms. This spirit
has manifested itself more or less ever
since, and has led to the Wanton de
stuuction of countless trees. whose loss
is now deplcred and which we are ell
'leayoring TO replace
In the Arbor Day proclamations Of
The various States the teachers and
pupils Of the public schools are special
ly called upon to "devote some portion
of this day to the Improvement of the
grounds occupied by them and to eXer-
clSes appropriate thereto This is as
il should be; and the results OF this eQu-
eati0ndl work and the implanting of a
love for the beautiful and for the study
of nature in the minds of the Young
cannot fail TO bear good fruits in the
future. The Governor of Illinois in lliS
proclamation said: Let the children
III our schools, the young men and
women III our colleges. seminaries and
universities, with their instructors. CO.
operate III the proper observance of the
day by planting shrubs. vines and trees
that will beautify the home, adorn the
public grounds, add wealth to the State,
and thereby increase the comfort and
happiness of our people"
New York, if not the pioneer State in
this movement, will observe May End
fhe 18th anniversary of the celebration
Of Arbor Day in the public schools of
that commonwealth. The Department
of Public Instruction issues each year
an ArbOr Day Annual. filled with mat
ter appropriate to the OCCASION In
the annual for 1902 the Superintendent
says IN letter to school officers and
teachers
We may well believe that the l7,304
exercises held III our public schools in
observance of the day. and the BAG. 3l7
trees planted by the pupils of those
schools have materially advanced public
sentiment III favor of the preservation
and restoration of our foreStS-a senti-
ment which has found expression in
laws establishing the State Preserve in
the Adirondacks and in the organiza
ton Of a school Of forestry under the
direction of Cornell University.
Better sstlll, we believe these exer-
clSes have inculcatcd III our youth a
growing appreciation of the benefits of
arbonculture, and genuine love for
nature III all her forms, which will tend
TO develop in the rising generation finer
SenslDilltleS, more generous ideals of
HE, ana greater respect and veneratiOn
Tor the wisdom and beneficence of ma
ture S God. If this belief is well found
ed, the legislature, in establishing Ar
Dor day, builded far better than it knew,
by providing not only for the material
welfare OF the future citizen and of the
= State, but for an aesthetic training and
development essential to the highest
type of civilization.
Massachusetts began the celebration
of Arbor day, says the Boston Globe,
by covering the barren areas of Cape
Cod with 10000 acres of trees, which
have now become thriving forests. In
1886 the governor of the State and
mayor of Boston walked out on the
Common, where once stood whipping
posts and pillories, and planted two
twin elms. There is a State law for
bidding the DETACHMENT of trees. In
some sections of the. State the statute
absolutely forbids the posting of any
sign, not only on the trees, but on