204 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



April 



tree study, and for training in the use 

 of trees, as at Princeville, 111., where it 

 is reported that a forty-acre woodlot, 

 which has come into the possession of 

 the village, is to be used for nature 

 study. 



The animal kingdom as well as the 

 vegetable, should have its share in na- 

 ture study. Arbor Day and Bird Day 

 are the same in quite a number of 

 States, as Connecticut, Delaware, Il- 

 linois, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. 



essential relation of tree growth to the 

 material side of our civilization, can 

 on Arbor Day be impressed upon the 

 childish mind, so that the next gener- 

 ation will be readier than the present 

 to use economically this gift of Provi- 

 dence. 



A circular on zA.rbor Day issued by 

 the Forest Service, says: "What child 

 has not seen a muddy freshet? Yet 

 this sight, so common in the spring, is 

 full of suggestion for a forest lesson. 



Normal school students at Washington, D. C, stratifying seeds in sand to carry 

 them through the winter — The seeds are collected in the city parks 



One mission of Arbor Day should be 

 to make every child in the United 

 States know the native trees near his 

 home, how they grow, and how they 

 are reproduced. Such a lesson will 

 ultimately be invaluable when the Na- 

 tion begins to realize the necessity for 

 conservative lumbering and the arts 

 of reforesting. Then it will be known 

 what trees to use. 



The facts of which the general pub- 

 lic is now taking cognizance, as to the 



The stream is discolored by the earth 

 which it has gathered from the soil. 

 This carries us back to the stream's 

 source, in the forest springs. Again, 

 it shows us with what force the water 

 has rushed over the exposed ground 

 where there was no forest to shield 

 and bind it. In just this way the Mis- 

 sissippi tears down and flings into its 

 bed, each summer, more soil than will 

 be dredged with years of costly labor 

 to make the Panama Canal. An ex- 



