ARBOR DAY ITS HISTORY AND OBSERVANCE. 61 



Let some ordinary workman be sent to bring a tree from the woods. 

 He will probably, with three or four thrusts of his sharp spade, sever 

 the main roots of the tree at about the distance of a foot from the stem 

 and then wrench the tree from the ground, rudely breaking off what 

 roots have not been cut already, and will bear oft' the tree with a tri- 

 umphant feeling that he was stronger than its "plaguey roots." Then 

 he will make a hole in the ground just large enough to permit him to 

 crowd the lacerated roots into it, with much twisting and turning, and 

 then, heaping upon them the hard, lumpy ground, he will stamp it upon 

 the roots and consider the tree planted, as he will say, perhaps, "m less 

 than no time." It would have been better, probably, if he had not spent 

 even so much time as he has upon it, as the school children will be 

 likely to see to their satisfaction before the summer is over; but they 

 may also learn a lesson in tree planting worth the cost of the life of 

 one tree. It has been stated~recently, on good authority, as an illus- 

 tration of improper planting, that of some hundred trees planted a few 

 years ago on the streets near Morningside Park, New York, every one 

 has died or been removed because of its diseased or dilapidated con- 

 tion, and replaced by another. 



Prof. J. T. Rothrock, forest commissioner of Pennsylvania, in reply 

 to a request for some suggestions in regard to the most profitable 

 observance of Arbor Day, sends the following, bearing on this subject, 

 which is most timely : 



In my judgment, one of the most important factors in Arbor Day celebration is 

 space. We have had but few Arbor Day celebrations as yet in this State ; yet, as I 

 go over the Commonwealth, I find that already the question presses, Where to plant 

 next year's trees in many of our contracted school grounds? The fact is, we have 

 nowhere in this country recognized as we should how important it is to have large 

 areas attached to our schools. There should be room for all legitimate plays ; ample 

 space for a typical, well-grown specimen of each species of native tree. Then, there 

 should be a nursery where each child could plant seeds and nuts of our trees and watch 

 them sprout and push out of the ground and see by what steps they became trees. 



Furthermore, this school lot should not be the refuse land of a school district. It 

 should be well situated, have abundant water, and as much variety of soil and 

 exposure as possible. It is clear, if these suggestions have any value, that 5 acres is 

 the least space that any country schoolhouse should have. 



It is time for us to recognize the fact that ground dedicated to educational pur- 

 poses should be as sacred as if act apart for a church. We should look down the 

 coming centuries in forming our plans for it, and anticipate and prepare for a time 

 when mature oaks will transmit the love and traditions of the place from one gener- 

 ation to the next. The school located in such surroundings would soon come to be 

 recognized as a valuable possession. It would be the one cheerful spot in which the 

 whole community had an ownership, the place of deposit of the public library, and 

 the place where the public meetings would be held. 



This may all seem Utopian. But it is coming. The very hardest lesson for us all 

 to learn is that the world moves faster than we do. More than this, it moves in 

 spite of us, and the next century will probably not be very old before it has moved 

 into a higher appreciation of the value of large and well-kept school grounds. Our 

 successors will feel that space which is too small, and land that is too poor to 

 attempt to raise a crop of grain upon, is also wholly inadequate to the larger work 

 of raising a crop of vigorous, liberal-minded, law-abiding citizens upon. 



