The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-04-06
Arbor Day


Arbor Day
AS Governor Ralston says in his Arbor Day
proclamation there a time when Indiana was
covered with forests. In that day when our faith
ers toiled to make cearings in which to establish
their farms, a tree was such obstacle in the i
way of progress it was not only held cheaply but
even came to be looked upon as an enemy.
Since the pressure of frontier life has been
removed, few of us look with animosty on the
trees but we are filled with indifference toward
them, an attitude almost fatal to tree welfare
as the old spirit of antagonism.
If Arbor Day help to arouse our interest
lin the subject and to lead us to more just esti
mate of the meaning and Importance of trees, it
will be more than worth while. Especially will
lit be worth while if it breathe into the young
sters a lively appreciation of what trees mean
to us.
A city property with two three healthy
shade trees in front and few shrubs and fruit
trees in the rear is worth anywhere from fifty
/ to three or four hundred dollars than it
would be without them. Shade is a luxury for
which willing to pay and the planting of
trees and shrubbery is as important business
proposition as running a store.
But while we are talking about shade trees,
we must not overlook the Importance of fruit
trees, vegetables flowers and ornamental shrub
berry, All these deserve place in Arbor Day
programs and are quite as important in their own
way the shade trees themselves. Two or three
flourishing fruit trees in the back yard help
little to lower the high cost of living in the sum-
mer time, and many Richmond family would be
quite bit better off in the vegetable season if
they had onions, potatoes, tomatoes, etc., grow
ing where burdocks and old sheds flourish.
| The Japanese, who feed more people to the
acre, perhaps, than any other and feed them bet
ter have been able to accomplish their surpris-
ing results very largely through the utiliza on of
little waste scraps of table soil, such a. may
often be found in the backwards of the most con-
gested districts. It is surprising how much can
be raised on few square feet of ground Wher-
ever weeds can grow, vegetables can grow, and
in plot that is no larger than an ordinary room
it is surprising how much the right kind of gar
denng produce Bolton Halls book, Three
Acres and Liberty has many interesting things
to say in this connection.
/ Even if fruit trees, vegetable gardens and
shade trees were not justified from the money
standpoint, they would still be richly worth
while beauty asset. How it gladdens the eye
to look upon yard tastefully laid out with shrub
berry and appropriate flowers! In the summer
time the foliage, blossoms and the lawn are nine
tenths of the home. The National Cash Register
Company, by encouraging the right use of flow
er beds and shrubbery, transformed South Park
in Dayton from an erstwhile dilapidated section
to one of the most beautiful suburbs in the world
if the prominent European landscape gardeners
are to be trusted who passed such opinion on
it a few years ago. Life is more worth living
when the house it attractivey surrounded by lv-
ing, growing, blossoming plants
i If Arbor Day arouses in only spasmodic
interest and if permit ourselves to lapse back
into our previous Indifference, it will have done
but little good. What we need more than any,
thing else is for all of in all parts of town to
come to understand and appreciate the true val
!, ue and necessity of trees and shrubs and flowers
If all our people get into the habit Of making
every day an Arbor Day, there is no reason why
Richmond cannot be made as beautiful as any
city in the land.
Slow Spender-Tom-"Pve the girl l want to
marry stood behind her at the ticket window this
morning took minutes buy a ffvecent
+ elevated ticket"
Il Alice-"Did that make you want to marry herr"
Tom-"Yes l figured out that she could never spend
my income at that rate.'-Boston Transcript.
this case be settled
out of court?"
e Mulligan-"Thats what we were trying to do, your
!, honor, the police interfered Brooklyn Life