The public ledger., 1922-04-15
FIFTIETH ARBOR Ihs5
DAY CELEBRATED
on APRIL sS
Golden Anniversary Of Arbor Day will
Re Celebrated In America
April %.

The Golden Anniversary of Arbc
Day, established so years ago in "tre'
less Nebraska" will be celebrate
: throughout the Unitd States, April 2
: the final day Of Forest Protectio
Week. Each state heretofore has 81
aride its own date for holding tree
planting exercises. This year, howeve
being a notable anniversary Of tn
; custom started in Nebraska, Presider
Harding, by proclamation, as asked a
the states to observe the occasion o
the day celebrated by the pioneer stat
where the idea originated.
The first ArboI Day was celebrate
in Nebraska in 1872 at the promptin
of J. Sterling Morton, onetiime Sec
retary of Agriculture. At first the dat
was April 10. but later the legislator
changed i, to April %, Mr., Morton
birthday More than, million tree
were planted in the state on the frs
Arhor Day, and rince then the idea ha,
spread TO practically the whole coun
try. Nearly billion trees have beer
planted in Nebraska since that day
In the sand-hills region Of the static
the Forest Service today has under
way the greatest tree-planting project
ever undertaken in this country. Some
{. 900 acres of treeless grass land in
the sand-hills have already been sue
cessfully reforested to pine by arti-
ficial planting.
Kansas and Tennessee followed the
lead Of Nebraska in 1875, and the next
wear Minnesota FELL into line. In. Kan
sas the same conditions as in Ne
hraska made the plan Of immediate
economic Importance: in Minnesota
the white-pine forests were being de-
stroyed with alarming rapidity with
no provision for replacing them. After
1876 there was for some year a check
in tthe spread OF the Arbor Day idea
and It was not until 1882 that two
more states began to celebrate the day
North Dakota and Ohioi.
Before 1882, efforts to extend the
celebration of Arbor Day had been
made through agricultural associa-
lions and town authorities. The first
observance of the day in Ohio, which
was held during the sessions of ma
tionaal forestry convention in Cincin-
natl took an entirely new form at the
of Warren Higley. Presi-
dent of the Ohio Forestry Commission
Under the direction of Superintendent
of Schools. John b. Peaslee, the school
children Of the city had a prominent
mart in tthe celebration, which includ-
cd public parade through the streets
to Eden Park, where trees were plant
ed in memory of distinguished men.
Abaut 10000 children participated
in the singing and reciting and in put
tin soil about the trees, which had
already been set in place, Two new
elements we're introduced into the Ar
bor Day plan on this occasion, the day
was made a school festival and the
practice of planting memorial trees
md groves was started. This became
rnowu as "the Cincinnati plan" and
was largely responsible for the ex-
ension of Arbor Day over the rect OF
he United States and beyond Tree
planting became festival combining
,leasure, utility, and instruction; ana
me of the greatest benefits OF the op-
,eryance of Arbor Day has been us
fleet in impressing upon the minds OF
he young people the value of ttrees
nd the necessity Of conserving all the
atural resources Of the country
The American Forestry Congress in
SS3, at SIT. Paul, Mimi, passed res
luton recommending the observance
T Arbor Day in the schools Of every
tate in the Union, and a committee
,as anpointed 1o demonstrated to the
,hool authorities all over the country
,e value of Arbor Day celebrations to
,e schools and to the community.
As a school festival the observance
Arbor Day has spread not only
,roughout the whole United States
Ut far beyond its borders. In 1887 the
,ucational department. Of Ontario set
,ide the first Friday in May as tree
Id flower planting day. In 1896 the
an was adopted officially in Spain.
reached Hawaii in 1905, and is now
vogue in all the dependencies Of the
nited States and in Great Britain.
anada, Australia, the British west
dies, South Africa, New Zealand,
rance, Norway, Russia, Japan and
lima.
This year Arbor Day will come as
climax to the week set aside by the
'esident for bringing before the peo-
o OF the country the need for safe
arding the forests from damage by
'es. Hand in hand with protecting
lat timber resources we have goes
Q task of replacinw the vast num-
r of trees that each year are de-
royed by fire or fall before the lum-
RACK approximately three-fourths :
the original forests OF the country
We been cut oover and unless lands
tuurally best suited to produce tim
r are projected from fire and more