Evening star., 1925-04-18
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

The glory of Washington is its
trees. Few cities in the world can
compare with the American Capital
In street and park foliage, yet the
rapid growth OF population, with the
consequent building of new streets,
together with the constant competi-
ton of tree mortality and tree ex-
| tension, makes life for the superin-
tendent of trees, Mr.. Clifford Lanham.
one long struggle to make two trees
grow where Congress had provided
for one. In the current fiscal year
the tree-planting amounts to a total
of 20 miles of streets-the record
planting of any one year-yet 1t is
limited only by the appropriation, not
by the demand of citizens and their
local associations.
With all the pride of Washingto-
mans in their tree bordered streets,
few realized that yesterday was Arbor
day in the District of Columbia.
Through the initiative OF Supt. Lam
ham, the third Friday Of April has
been celebrated each. year for the last
four years as local Arbor day, though
the celebration has not yet become as
general as tree lovers hope to make 1t,
owing, perhaps. to the lack of a pub
licity director of the tree department
or the oversight Of the various citi-
Zens' organizations. Washington is
especially fortunate in it's magnificent
park system, developed from natural
forest beauty, with hills and rills, and
it is the ideal of nature lovers to
spread the charm of sylvan greens
throughout the paved and brick-bor-
| dered avenues. Where else are ave
| nues arched with such foliage as
canopies certain residence streets of
70 hi "a
service is digging holes in which to
plant hundreds of trees which do not
yet exist-perhaps these holes duly
| filled up again with mellow soiD will
act as gentle reminders to the resi-
dents of the streets Of the possibili-
| ties of trees, of shade, of verdure, of
| birds and squirrels-Of beauty and in
terest which would be added unto
them if only the citizens associations
| would make their influence more &C
tive while the appropriation commit
| tees Of Congress are making up their
budgets. Trees, unlike marble statues,
continue to increase in beauty as the
years go by, and the initial cost is a
trifie compared with the near future
value.
Not only is Rock Creek Park to be
| greatly enlarged by the recent addi'
| ton Of many acres, but two new ma.
! tional forests--Camp Meade and Fort
| Humphreys, aggregating nearly 5000
acres, within easy automobile distance
of the Capital, are set apart, as fea-
lures Of our parking system. Forts
Washington, Hunt and Foote are soon
| to be incorporated in the accessible
parks of the District of Columbia
| nature lovers. But these are not
| available to those who do not drive
autos, and to none are they so near
that they take the place of shaded
avenues of the city itself. 1t will
take years to develop parks and years
| to grow shade trees in the city.
* X K
For 80 years the slogan of nature
| lovers has been PLANT tree" That
| slogan Is now being enlarged to PLANT
| a forest!" This is not merely for the
| sake of recreation, but is the appeal
| of all who have a vision of the needs
| Of the country for lumber and fol
| moisture. In one county in New
| York-Broome County-86,000 trees
were set out last year. There will
| be 40, 900 acres in that county set tc
/ trees. Probably, with all the activity
| Of the District of Columbia, the tota
| number of trees set in any one veal
| has never reached 1900. The Conser
walton Commission of New York sells
| 2-year-old trees for private planting
ct t2 a thousand. and 3-year-old trees
! at -. School children Of Brooms