254 Proceedings of thk 



produced that year in the United States. 



The youth who thus settled, less than half a century 

 ago, near the banks of the turbid and oft times turbu- 

 lent Missouri, looked about him with sorrowful and, I 

 fear, regretful gaze. On all that broad expanse of un- 

 dulation no tree to gladden the sight, no shade to offer 

 its restful protection to contemplative man or reminat- 

 ing beast. He called to mind the groves of his native 

 state; he thought of the spreading oaks, the leafy 

 maples, and the stately pines of Michigan, and probably 

 from the longing homesickness there came the inspira- 

 tion that ripened into the motto of his life: ''Plant 

 trees." From that inspiring thought came a transfor- 

 mation delightful to contemplate. Standing now on 

 the eminence where he built his home, on every side 

 are to be seen the sylvan evidences of his industry and 

 foresight. Lofty trees, many of them true monarchs 

 of the forest, wave their graceful tops as the wind 

 makes music in the branches, singing ever a grateful 

 requiem to the builder of Arbor Lodge. The example 

 he set has not been lost. Groves innumerable now dot 

 the landscape, once so bare. Countless millions of 

 trees have been planted as a result of his persistent 

 inculcation of the benefits of tree-planting, and in every 

 State and Territory of the United States, except Dela- 

 ware and the Indian Territory, by legislative enactment 

 or executive proclamation one day in each year is set 

 apart as a legal holiday in which the people are 

 encouraged to plant trees. It is a monument to his 

 memory more enduring than marble, more lasting than 

 brass. 



Need I give the name of the founder of Arbor Day 

 to you — lovers of trees that you are? The names of 

 J. Sterling Morton and James Wilson are indissolubly 

 linked together in the annals of forest development. 

 May their tribes increase ! 



