ARBOR DAY. 103 



ably brought this cult with them, for there, also, trees are 

 looked upon with religious veneration. The Greeks, in 

 this, as in other things, had a more imaginative faith, and 

 associated the lives of superhuman, though not immortal, 

 things with those of trees. 



I willingly confess so great a partiality for trees as 

 tempts me to respect a man in exact proportion to his 

 respect for them. He cannot be wholly bad who has a 

 sympathy with what is so innocent and so beautiful. But 

 quite apart from any sentimental consideration, the influ- 

 ence of trees upon climate and rainfall gives to the plant- 

 ing of trees, and to the protection of them where nature 

 has already planted them, a national importance. Our 

 wicked wastefulness and contempt for the teaching of sci- 

 ence in this matter will most surely be avenged on our 

 descendants. Nature may not instantly rebuke, but she 

 never forgives the breach of her laws. 



I am glad, therefore, to join in this tribute of friendly 

 gratitude to the inventor of Arbor Day. I think that no 

 man does anything more visibly useful to posterity than 

 he who plants a tree. I should answer the cynic's ques- 

 tion, " What has posterity done for me that I should do 

 anything for it?" by saying that it is all the pleasanter to 

 do something for those who can do nothing for us. 



Marco Polo relates that the great Kublai Khan planted 

 trees the more willingly because "his astrologers and 



