THE WORLD OUT OF DOORS 85 



some to cry "Woodman spare that tree," and it is 

 with something of this old love for trees, a desire 

 to see a little of America as it used to be, that over 

 six million people visit the National Forests every 

 summer. The National Parks, like Yellowstone, 

 Glacier, and the big tree groves of California, also 

 come in for their share of tourists and campers, and 

 indeed the attractiveness of these parks as public 

 playgrounds is created in large measure by the pres- 

 ence of the grand old trees. Repeated schemes for 

 commercial exploitation have fallen before the 

 weight of an overwhelming public opinion. If we 

 are willing to travel hundreds of miles for but a 

 few weeks of forest recreation, what if we could 

 have the woods everywhere at our very doors? The 

 artificial planting of shade trees and orchards has 

 transformed parts of Southern California from a 

 treeless desert to a far-famed paradise. What if 

 the environs of every city, village and town could 

 be made into a vast park? 



Fifty years ago the legislature of the State of 

 Nebraska created Arbor Day as a state holiday to 

 be devoted to the planting of trees by school chil- 

 dren. A very large portion of that state consisted 

 of flat fertile prairie where trees were particularly 

 needed to afford shelter to man and beast from the 

 beating summer sun; but Nebraska was not alone 



