Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-04-16
ARBOR DAY SUGGESTION

1 e y /, ~
Matter Of Interest Discussed by the
North Carolina Geological Survey,
Chapel Hill, n. G.
The suggestions given in this bull
letln for lesson in the observance Of
Arbor Day have been made by W. W.
Ashe, Forester of the Geological Sur
vey. 1t is to be desired that this
day shall be more generally observ-
ed and that our young people shall be
brought to a realization Of the value
OF our forests and the beauty and
need OF trees for shade and decorative
purposes. Arbor day is May 10, and
how soon many of our school yards
could be made places Of beauty if
on each Arbor Day the school would
plant a certain number Of trees or
shrubs and then care for them dur
ing the year.
While the same sentiment which is
attached to the observance Of Arbor
Day in the scantily forested western
states cannot be applied in well
wooded State like North Carolina yet
the observance here of such day has
| It's significance. Arbor day in North
Carolina could be set aside for the
school children to learn Of the great
natural gift which we have in the
forests, and the relation of the for
est to the well-being and wealth Of
our people.
| The right way to plant a tree, how
the roots and crown should be-, the
manner Of pressing the earth firmly
about the roots, and how to prune the
branches-this is a manual exercise
but one which it is well for everyone
to be able to perform.
The ffs 1f ,dh tie se il e9seXn
absorb moisture and the need for
preserving these when transplanting
should be emphasized. The moisture
the tree must have, its use of manure
(leaf, mould and humus), how it
grows and hears its fruits are elemen-
tary to the fundamental truths Of the
relation Of the forest to the happi-
ness and progress Of our people.
| Next to- the very soil itself, which
in North Carolina was originally
nearly all forest covered, the forest
has been the chief source of liveli.
hood for our people. If it at one
time temporarily barred the progress
| Of the farm, it yielded at the same
time revenue in furnishing both
warmth and shelter. When the farm
ing land became worn and thin OF
quilted, the thickets Of pine again Gov
cred the soil, restoring its fertility
and making it productive. The rela
tion Of the forest to the farm is para
mount. It is so intimate as to be al
most inseparable On the farm tht
uses of wood are manifold, for fuel
fencing, building tools and barrels
and crates for shipping.
Within itself, moreover, the fores
sustains a vast industry, employin!
more than $4,000 Of our men in hand
ling and saving and reconverting it
lumber and other products. The lum
Der is used for building our towns AM
then it keeps the factories Of many 0
them busy, chanihg the rough lumbe
into furniture, as is the case at Hig
Point and Lexington; or turning WOO
l
mountains at Canton; or making tar
ming materials from wood, which j
done at Old Fort.
But even this is not the limit Of th
direct usefulness Of the forest Th
value of the many rivers Of Mort
Carolina for manufacturing depend
largely upon the uniformity Of thei
flow, upon the absence Of great food
and the shortness Of the period Of lo'
water, and upon how small a quar-
tity of sand and earth is washed fro1
the soil Of our hills and mountain
Great unevenness in the flow Of th
streams makes it difficult to use tf
power. Large amounts of earth
the water fill up the ponds and rese,
voirs and prevent the water bein
;, stored. The forest is very importa1
in adding to the usefulness Of tx
rivers. The more forest there is G
e the streams and the thicker tt
sponge of leaves and litter on tt
ground beneath the trees the mol
. uniform is the stream flow and tt
. freer the water from sand and cart
: And this is true not only of the b
rivers but the small streams as we
+ The bottoms along many Of them,
e one time cultivated In corn, are no
s. covered with sand bars or have be-
/ washed into deep gullies Dy Il
floods as the influence Of the fore
a | has been lessened by burning and d
E. stoying rs humus in addition
g clearing che land.
"a It is from these thoughts that t
real lesson of Arbor Day can