388 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



once we should until that time comes make it our special business to 

 see that our own grounds and surroundings are improved. 



Arbor Day is largely a sentiment, I am sorry to say, and while 

 there is an attempt at improvement along that line in some communi- 

 ties, in the majority of cases it is simply a waste of time and effort, 

 and simply because the whole responsibility rests upon the teacher. 

 The tenure of office does not extend in the average over three 

 months, and with a change in prospect every year it is difficult to 

 interest a teacher in such a proposition. Possibly no work is done 

 at any other time than Arbor Day. I can recall instances where 

 trees have been planted by teachers and the older pupils, but after the 

 trees were planted and had started to grow and had every chance 

 to live and thrive, the people did not manifest enough interest to 

 fence the grounds in order to preserve the trees, or to put a mulch 

 around the trees to protect them, and under such circumstances how 

 can you expect a teacher to feel much interest in the improvement 

 of school grounds? The horticultural societies of the various states 

 it seems to me could do a wonderful amount of good along this 

 direction if they made it their special interest to see that something 

 was done and that in the right way. There are many places in this 

 country where schoolhouses have nice natural groves about them and 

 pupils can enjoy their recreation in the shade of trees. We cannot 

 put too strong an effort into this kind of work, and I hope our horti- 

 cultural societies and the people generally will wake up and take hold 

 of this work with more vigor and enthusiasm than they have in the 

 past. 



Mr. A. G. Long: It'is rather a difficult matter to interest a com- 

 munity in the improvement of school grounds. The best method I 

 have found is to obtain permission from the proper authorities and 

 then go ahead and do it yourself — but be unselfish enough to let 

 somebody else have all the glory of the results. Mr. Nutter made 

 a very fine design for the improvement of our school grounds at 

 Lake Minnetonka, and then we raised funds in various ways to 

 carry out the design, so that the expense would not have to be met 

 with district funds. I "worked" my nursery friends for trees and 

 shrubs, and they responded very liberally. On Arbor Day the vari- 

 ous grades and the clasess in the high school planted trees, and my 

 son and I finished the job by putting in two and one-half days more 

 work. If we had waited to "fire" enthusiasm we would be waiting 

 still. Then we organized a "Get-to-Gether" club in the school, 

 drawing up a short constitution for its government, and charging a 

 membership fee of ten cents for high school pupils, teachers and 

 those outside of the school, and the grade pupils were asked to pay 

 as many cents as corresponded with the number of their grades. 

 It was a noteworthy fact that the first grade pupils paid their one-- 

 cent membership fees more promptly than any other grade. This 

 is just in line with the suggestion made this afternoon that this work 

 must be begun with the children. I know those little first grade 

 pupils will be interested in the work during all the time that they 

 will spend in school, and the lesson learned will stay by them after 

 they leave school. We have now a substantial Page fence around 

 the grounds, which will be covered with vines ; a circular cement 



