Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-13
OF WORLDWIDE INTEREST
ARBOR DAYS IN AMERICA
BY FREDERIC }. HAsKIN

on>its individual Arbor day.
The division of forestry extension i'll
the forest service of the United States
receives hundreds of letters every week
asking that a selection of trees for
Arbor day exercises be made, and In
the majority of cases they close with
the plea that the small trees suited to
that section be sent from the govern
ment nurseries. Such letters are diff
flcult to answer 1t is impossible to
say what trees to plant unless the To-
cal conditions are exhaustively de-
tailed. AS to furnishing the trees that
Is utterly impossible. 1t would take
all the government nurseries are rails
ing each year for their own great
schemes OF reforesting, and more too.
1t has been suggested by men who
nave sgiven much thought to the prob
lem that this business of furnishing
trees to Arbor day celebrants be made
that of each individual states forester
Twenty-six states now have forest Off
GERS ana agricultural experiment sta
tions, where such work can be carried
on. 1t would be wise to make small
charge for each tree, limiting the num-
per sold to each applicant, and, as inf
the case of Ohio, have an expert from
the state forest service see that each
tree is planted correctly A small
charge would save the states the ex-
perience of Kansas. Kansas supplied
100000 trees for planting to her peo-
pie last year Often, In busy days. the
farmer let the trees no had asked for
lie INTENDED at the express office and
then lost the trees, which had cost the
state something.
The father of Arbor day was ]. Ster-
ling Morton, secretary of agriculture
under Cleveland. When governor of
Nebraska he grew interested In the
planting of trees to redeem waste
lands. AT meeting of the state board
of agriculture in January. 1874. he
brought the matter UP, and the second
wednesday In April was set aside as
Arbor day. The governor set about i'm
buing the citizens of Nebraska with
his own enthusiasm, and on that first
American Arbor day, observed only In
Nebraska, Nebraska is said to have set
out 100000 trees. There are now
100000 reforested acres in that state
which are the result of the Arbor day
movement. Iowa was the next state to
name a day, then came Michigan. and
Governor Alger in his message, said
1--WE may not live to enjoy the full
fruits of this work, but our children
and our children's children will receive
the benefit from the labor" In ten
Arbor days.
Arbor day became day for children
in May. 1882. when, at the annual meet
ing of the American Forestry associa-
ton In Cincinnati, the little folk were
invited to take part Twenty thousand
school children, with bands playing and
flags flying, marched In a body to Eden
park and planted Authors grove" as
a perpetual render of the day. West
Virginia Immediately seized on the idea
and gave her Arbor day to her school
children. Since then other states and
territories have swung into line and
have placed in the willing, unframed
little hands the fate of the day that
must bear so big and potent lesson to
the American people,
= How much good has come from Ar
Dor day cannot be estimated. No state
has ever touched Nebraska's first rec
ord, though Minnesota planted 100000
trees on Arbor day, 1876, and the Prov
ince of Ontario 10000 in 1885. The trees
the children planted have often died,
but those that the farmers planted
from the days inspiration have usually
lived. So the lesson has had its force
Their interest in forestry has already
been felt by the nation. The children
OF San Bernardino county, California.
have decided to reforest their noun
tains and a petition recently sent the
government asking the establishment
of a redwood national park was from
the children of Eureka, Cal.
1t would be good to inspire in all
children such a love of trees as that
held by the late Col. w. II. jackson or
Athens, Ga. Nearly 100 years ago he
gave a great tree there deed to Itself,
for, as the tree stood near a thorough
fare. he knew it might some day be
cut down. Today the tree still stands.
though the good colonel was long ago
gathered to his fathers. while the deed
Is ON record at the courthouse, pro
tecting the tree forever, "for and IN
consideration of the deep love ana yen \
Grafton have for the oak Tree