Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-05-16
ARBoR DAY.
Holiday Is Now Observed in Nearly
All of the States.

Copyright 1906, by Hugh Coyle.)
It it interesting to observe the in
tensity of the women in the far West
ern States for several years past-as
well as now-in their great enthusiasm
and promoters of the grandest Occa-
sion ever set apart for a secular holt
day in the worlds history-Arbor Day.
So that it is gratifying to note that
such has become infectious almost
everywhere, especially in Illinois, where
they have taken even more than the
active interest displayed in other States.
Do not imagine, however, that the wo-
men of the Eastern and Southern Sec
lions, as those Of the middle west,
have not been interested previously be-
cause they have; as a matter of fact
they were the first to become so, be-
fore their Western sisters had taken
up or realized the Importance of the
subject. But it is for the universal
revival of this glorious holiday, awak-
ening the entire country to it's prac
teal value, that we are indebted to
the women of the Western States and
Territories. This value multiplied,
consists of preservation of the forests
from actual elimination by unnecessary
destructive spOilatiOns Ostensibly for
Commercial purposes" Reclamation
of the arid lands in Western States
and Territories. By law Arbor Day in
the State of New York falls on the first
Friday in May; April 9th is the date
for many other States April 18th is
the date for Colorado, and it may some
what surprise the people of the United
States to know that in the Empire
State of New York this holiday is up
wards of a century old.
In some States the holiday does not
come until the middle of May.
Three days prior to April %, 1882,
Arbor Day in the State of Ohio-a
large convention of distinguished citi-
zens from Canada and the United
States invited by and arranged for by
the latter, assembled in Cincinnati in
the interest and promotion of For
estry, the prevention of the destruction
of our valuable forests, requiring also
that each April 9th succeeding should
be observed by the school children of
that State, Ohio, as Arbor Day, on
which occasion every scholar should
be admonished to plant something.
even though it be nothing more than
bean-Stalk."
In forty-three States of the Union
it is by statute as much of a holiday
and even more so for school children.
than any other day in the year, and
it is a fact that until the past two
years comparatively little seems to
have been known by the general public
about Arbor Day. By order of the
State Board of Agriculture thirty-three
years ago, Arbor Day was first cele-
brated in Nebraska and astonishing
to relate the settlers of this then prai-
RE State, planted 100000 trees. By
proclamation of the Governor of Min
nesota two years later that State es-
tablished Arbor Day, and every inhab-
liant of that vast domain was invited
to devote the entire day to the re-
clamation of barren lands bedecked
only by the miserable scrub oak then
peculiar to the far Northwest.
Sparsely settled was this State at that
time, but the result was amazing be-
cause her hardy settlers started in
mother earth on that day the roots of
100000 forest trees.
Other Mississippi and Missouri riv-
er States, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri.
louisiana followed soon and Dakota's
Tree Claim laws stimulated the tend
ency to start small forests ali over the
prairie and alkali bad lands of that
then vast territory. Much adverse
criticism was called forth at about that
period because Of the widespread waste
and destruction of the Adirondack for
ests in New York and the State Com
mission of Forestry of that common
wealth had anathemas galore hurled at
it. That the principles sent down by
the fathers of this holiday were right
the Board of University Regents at
Albany, n. Y, began to issue instruc-
tons throughout the State in regard
to the observance of the holiday, to con-
form to the sentiments Of the thousands
Of requests they had received, as also