Evening star., 1940-08-24

wrote these words IN the book of til
stone and set it there under an oak
that was by the sanctuary of the
Lord"
Stored Babylon, capital of the
ancient Assyrian Empire, was dis
tinguished by another name. This
was Din-T1r, or grove of life, be-
cause "the earliest religious center
Of the place was grove where rites
were performed that were supposed
to be nfe-giving."
The Greeks, since they were
lovers of nature, found in trees the
essence Of their religion. Early
Greek temples were groves of forest
trees which were placed under the
protection Of Pan and peopled with
nymphs-those lesser divinities or
spirits of the woods. Most cele-
brated among these forest cathe-
drals" was the Grove of Daphne
consecrated to the worship of
Apollo. And Plato gave out his
timeless philosophy in the Grove
of the Academy, public garden
OUTSIDE AtneDs.
According to Roman tradition,
the founder of their system of
worship, Numa, composed his ma
tons ritual to accord with the
divine guidance which Egeria gave
him, in a grove. She is said to
have dwelt near the Porta Capena
at Rome, and on this sacred spot
Numa erected a temple to the
Camenae. They were the nymphs
who had the gift of prophecy.
United States
Honors Trees.
For all its youth, as Nation, the
United States has learned to honor
its historic trees. They are to be
found in every State of the Union
oaks under which treaties were
signed, pines that were reserved for
use in the Kings ships, an elm
under which Washington took COM
mand of the continental forces. The
Cambridge Elm no longer stands,
but happily it has left several
grandchildren" to carry on its
proud tradition. One of these de-
scendants adorns the grounds of the
American Tree Association in the
National Capital and another grows
big and strong beside the Hartford
(Conn0 State Capitol
Facing lonely years after the loss
of his Rachel, Andrew Jackson had
some magpolias transferred from
the Hermitage to the White House
grounds. They were something
green in her memory" he said. and
this exquisite symbolism mas grown
into ever higher favor. Through
out the country memorial high
ways and roads of remembrance
have been chosen as tribute to the
war dead. Each tree along their
sides stands dedicated to the sacri-
flee of a young life. How much
more fitting is a tree than a tomb
stone! A tree is the visible symbol
of life. The years lie lightly on it,
adding beauty and stature 1t Is
strong in endurance against storms
and winds, yet its strength has the
yielding quality that is the secret
of power. When it puts on new
leaves with the returning spring it
is one with Natures miracle Of re-
birth, fulfilling the scriptural prom
ise that it shall renew its youth
like the eagle
This deep-rooted reverence for
trees was noticeably revived in the
latter years of last century when j.
Sterling Morton, then a member OF
the Nebraska State Board of Agri-
culture and later United States
Secretary of Agriculture, proposed
that Wednesday, the 10th Gay OF
April, 1872, "be especially set
apart and consecrated to tree plant
ing in the State of Nebraska and
the State Board of Agriculture
hereby names it Arbor Day." With
far-seeing wisdom, he was bestow-
ing the dignity of law upon a GUS
tom that had been observed for
some time in a naturally treeless
region. The early settlers in Ne
braska had seen the need for tree
planting and carried it out with sin
cerity, if not with system. On that
initial Arbor Day in 1872, over
1,OO0O0 trees were planted. The
State went ardently into the good
work and in 1895 legally awarded
itself the name of the Tree Plant
ers' State
Nebraska is now one of the recog-
nized leaders in practical forestry.
Since 1902 the Halsey Nursery. estab-
lished by the Federal Forest Service,
has been furnishing instructions re-
garding the care of trees. OF added
interest is the fact that since 1926
the Extension Service of the Nebras-
ka College of Agriculture has been
distributing free planting stock to
farmers. 4
Arbor Day Is Now
Officially Accepted.
Arbor Day has now been adopted
into the national calendar. Kansas
and Tennessee followed the example
of Nebraska in 1875, and Minnesota,
then facing loss Of her white pine
forests, took up the idea in 1876.
North Dakota and Ohio fell into
line in 1882, a year made memorable
by the enlistment Of American
school children in this splendid
crusade. In that year, during a
national forestry convention, 10000 |
Cincinnati school children paraded
to the city's Eden Park and 10000
trees were planted in honor Of ois.
tinguished men. In 1887 the in
fuence of the movement extended
to Canada, when Ontario, the pre-
mier, province, selected the first
Friday in May as a time Of tree
and flower planting. In 1895 Spain
introduced the plan. Ten years
later-in l905-it was instituted In
Hawaii, and now is generally OBJ
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