68 ARBOR DAY ITS HISTORY AND OBSERVANCE. 



siderate of one another and of all around them, and to prepare them to 

 lead noble and useful lives. 



In view of the duties of citizenship which are soon to devolve upon 

 them care should be taken to make the patriotic feature of the exer- 

 cises for Arbor Day prominent. Trees should be planted in memory 

 of men who have nobly served their country. Patriotic songs should 

 be sung, and the national flag should be displayed in the schoolhouse 

 and on the march to plant the trees. Selections abounding in patriotic 

 sentiments should also be read or recited. We have given a few speci- 

 mens of appropriate character from various authors and have made 

 reference to more, but the pupils should be encouraged to find others 

 still. 



The endeavor should be made to give the exercises a varied char- 

 acter, adapting them to the younger pupils not less than to the older. 

 On this account songs and recitations of light and seemingly, perhaps, 

 of somewhat trivial character may be allowed a place in company with 

 those of higher grade. Let the youngest pupils become interested in 

 Arbor Day as soon as possible, if it be only at first by songs of birds 

 and flowers. 



The programme for the day's observance will be imperfect if it does 

 not include as one of its items an account given by some pupil of the 

 object of Arbor Day, describing its origin and purpose, and the ends 

 which are sought to be accomplished by it. This should be kept in 

 mind by distinct reference to it from year to year. 



In places so large that the schools can not well be combined in cele- 

 brating Arbor Day it will conduce to the greater interest and resulting 

 benefit of the exercises if a generous rivalry is stimulated between the 

 schools in the endeavor to see which will have the most interesting and 

 pleasing programme. 



Many schools have been accustomed to adopt by vote some tree as 

 their emblematic tree or badge. This naturally causes the pupils to 

 give special attention to that particular tree and on Arbor Day to 

 make it the subject of essays, recitations, and songs, thus giving it the 

 chief place in the exercises. The result may easily be made to be such 

 a knowledge of that particular tree as will be pleasant and valuable for 

 a lifetime. The choice of other trees in the same way from year to 

 year will form a very pleasing method of learning to distinguish the 

 various species of trees from each other and to know their habits and 

 uses. 



It is desirable that an address, or more than one, by some thoughtful 

 person, invited for the occasion, should form a feature of the day's 

 exercises. But the pupils should be expected to furnish essays for the 

 occasion on appropriate subjects, and to prepare them carefully. There 

 is given in this bulletin a considerable list of such subjects, but one by 

 no means exhaustive, only suggestive of the many which readily offer 

 themselves for consideration. 



