26 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [15:1— Jan., 1919 



hearts and minds, instead of those with remorseful and fatalistic 

 conceptions. 



Undoubtedly the query has come to the reader, why not get 

 these ethical, aesthetic, and religious values from the other forms 

 of animate life, the flowers in the garden, the grass of the lawn, the 

 crops in the field, the birds in the air, the sheep in the fold, the 

 beasts of the forests, or the fishes in the stream? Without ques- 

 tion, all or any one of these can impart these inspirations, but the 

 longevity of trees, their abundance, their conspicuousness, their 

 changeableness, and their utility and comfort fit them particularly 

 for the production of these responses. A further reason is the 

 special need at the present time for interest in trees. 



It is a matter of regret, to note the attitude of neglect and 

 indifference toward the local trees, that as has been suggested, 

 might mean so much in the development of an abundant life. 

 The development of boys and girls amidst the trees in itself may 

 not produce a transformation in interest. Charles Dudley Warner, 

 the nature-student, said that he never appreciated the beauty of 

 the waters of the Potomac River, until he beheld the slimy bottom 

 of the stream, after a disappearance of the water, with the ebb of 

 the tide. No one would be foolish enough to advise the destruction 

 of our trees, to give a realization of their worth. A better alterna- 

 tive is the positive method of instruction in the value of trees. 

 After this instruction has been presented in the nature-study 

 courses in the schools in this country, let us hope an aroused public 

 will put a stop to the tree butchery by electric light and telephone 

 companies that suffer no compunction of conscience when they 

 destroy the symmetry of trees, and induce rot by the mutilations, 

 all for the purpose of open spaces for the stringing of wires. It is 

 also hoped, that this instruction will lead to the selection of 

 trained men, whose function is the care of the trees of the com- 

 munity. The more or less isolated instances of rural and urban 

 communities with ordinances for the planting, care, and protection 

 of trees will cease to be isolated and unusual instances, but will be 

 commonplace. 



Humility 



To practice humility look into the sky and remember what thou knowest 

 not. — A Chinese proverb. 



