xii ARBOR DAY 



forests in his own country, and to convince him that 

 the reckless destruction of them then going on here, 

 if not checked, would bring upon this land the same 

 calamities which had befallen countries of the Old 

 World in past centuries, and from which only the 

 most enlightened nations of Europe are now recov- 

 ering, through the arduous efforts of many decades, 

 and at great pecuniary cost. The result of Mr. 

 Marsh's observations was the publication of a 

 volume entitled 'The Earth and Man/ and to the 

 admirable chapter on 'The Woods/ more than to 

 any other source, perhaps, we are indebted for 

 the awakening of attention here to our destructive 

 treatment of the forests and the necessity of adopt- 

 ing a different course if we would avert most serious 

 consequences, threatening, possibly, more than 

 anything else our material welfare." 



The cause of our American trees was taken up 

 and zealously advocated by a number of public- 

 spirited men, prominent among whom was B. G. 

 Northrup who, in the pages to follow, has written 

 so eloquently of Arbor Day's spirit and significance. 



But the official father of the movement was J. 

 Sterling Morton, afterward Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture during President Cleveland's second term. 

 "In 1872," writes Walsh,* "he was a member of 

 the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture, and he 

 offered a resolution setting apart April loth of that 



* In " Curiosities of Popular Customs." 



