206 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



April 



unless given unusual care. The State 

 Superintendent urges that Arbor Day 

 should be changed to the fall, as trees 

 planted then are more apt to survive. 



In addition to the tree planting there 

 is a notable effect in many States in 

 the embellishment of school grounds 

 in other ways, as by planting shrub- 

 bery, cleaning up the yards, fixing 

 fences, and the like. In Nebraska the 

 boys have fenced the school yards. In 

 some places the law requires the school 

 board to fence the yard. In other 

 places the school work has been the 

 means by which the idea of tree plant- 

 ing and land-scape gardening was in- 

 troduced to the general public, and so 

 not only the schools, but the villages 

 and the country surrounding have been 

 beautified. 



In Bath, Pennsylvania, for many 

 years it has been the custom to plant a 

 tree each year and name it in honor 

 of some eminent man or woman. Last 

 year ''the Carnegie oak" was planted. 



Many States, one-third or more, 

 have Arbor Day manuals issued by the 

 State Superintendent, the State For- 

 ester, or the Federation of Women's 

 Clubs. In Ohio monthly bulletins on 

 forestry and arboriculture are sent out 

 by the extension department of the 

 State University. In other States ele- 

 mentary agriculture is taught to the 

 children, by legal requirement ; and 

 this should, and often does, include 

 the primary elements of forestry. In 

 West Virginia the day was not much 

 observed for several years, but in 1907 

 the State Superintendent of Schools 

 issued a good-sized manual and suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining general recogni- 

 tion of the day. 



An Arbor Day manual, which espe- 

 cially carried out the intent of the 

 authors of Arbor Day, was issued in 

 1902 by Arthur Le Fevre. then State 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

 in Texas. This took account of the 

 forest resources of Texas, and of the 

 organizations for forest work in the 

 States, in the Nation, and in foreign 

 nations ; and discussed the practical 

 value of woodlots and of forests as a 

 protection to many industries. 



In Hawaii Arbor Day was first ob- 

 served on November 3, 1905, when the 

 Governor generously contributed half 



of a fund for a prize of $5 in each of 

 the 154 public schools, to be given to 

 the grade whose planting on Arbor 

 Day secured most successful results. 

 The other half of the fund was raised 

 by subscription. Most of the trees 

 were furnished by the Territorial nur- 

 sery, at Honolulu. 



In Forestry and Irrigation for 

 May, 1907, was given an illustrated ac- 

 count of the notable work done by the 

 schools and citizens of Winnebago 

 County, Illinois, under County Su- 

 perintendent Kern. 



In the same issue was given Presi- 

 dent Roosevelt's proclamation to the 

 school children of the United States. 

 In this the President said : *Tt is well 

 that you should celebrate Arbor Day 

 thoughtfully, for within your lifetime 

 the Nation's need of trees will become 

 serious. * * * A people without 

 children would face a hopeless future ; 

 a countrv without trees is almost as 

 hopeless." 



One of the best examples of Arbor 

 Day accomplishment in village im- 

 provement outside of school work is in 

 the park at Manhattan, Kansas. When 

 this town was laid out in 1854, a large 

 square tract of forty-five acres was 

 set aside as a city park, but the land 

 was bare prairie, and the pioneer citi- 

 zens had no time to turn it into a park ; 

 for many years it was used as a coun- 

 ty fair ground. In 1894 a fountain 

 was placed in the park, and in 1904 

 an obelisk was erected to the memory 

 of the Indian Chief, Tatarrax, who, 

 legend says, befriended Coronado when 

 on his trip of exploration. Elm, box- 

 elder, sycamore, and hackberry have 

 grown rapidly. Norway and x\ustrian 

 pines and red cedar have done fairly 

 well. White pine and arborvitse have 

 been a failure. A few oaks of differ- 

 ent species are thriving. 



This experience further shows the 

 value of providing for things of pub- 

 lic benefit, even though they cannot 

 be realized at once. The founders of 

 Manhattan placed this park on their 

 plat, and though for thirty-four years 

 no real park was there, yet when the 

 time came the ground was public prop- 

 erty, and only needed to be improved. 

 A view of this park is shown in the 

 frontispiece of this magazine. 



