1902 The Establishment of an Arbor Day 165 



serious consideration of our readers the question of establish- 

 ing a Bird and Arbor Day as an annual institution in the 

 British Isles, which is dealt with elsewhere in this issue. 

 We invite expressions of opinion on the means suggested, 

 from private individuals or corporate bodies, and shall be 

 glad to open our columns to free discussion of the matter. 

 At present we refrain from expressing any opinion on the 

 feasibility or otherwise of the proposal, recognising that 

 there is much to be thought of before a definite scheme can 

 be decided upon. But there can be no doubt that the quest- 

 ion is a pressing one, and all proposals which are at all 

 practicable should be carefully weighed. The first thing is 

 to educate the rural public to see the need of more intelligent 

 bird protection, and to get landlords to take a real interest 

 in getting as many wild birds as possible to nest on their 

 properties. The Society for the Protection of Birds has done 

 and is doing excellent work in this matter, and they have 

 the sympathetic support of many well-known naturalists and 

 landlords. The Secretary (3 Hanover Square, W.) will be 

 glad to give any information to those who are willing to join 

 the society or any of its many branches, and to supply litera- 

 ture on the subject. To those of our readers who have trees 

 and buildings of their own we commend a careful perusal of 

 Mr Masefield's book, noticed in another column. 



The Establishment of an Arbor Day. 



By Reginald Haines, M.A., M.B.O.U. 



Arbor Day, or Tree Day, is an American institution which 

 it is proposed to naturalise in England. It appears that on 

 a given day the inhabitants of one or more townships sally 

 out and each individual plants a tree in the ground selected 

 beforehand by the community for this purpose. No infor- 

 mation is forthcoming as to how the site is chosen, who 

 gives it for this object, and what trees are selected and 

 by whom. It will not be amiss, however, to discuss the 

 possibility and advisability of establishing a similar institu- 



