86 OUR VANISHING FORESTS 



in that necessity, and within a few years the Idea 

 spread to nearly every state in the Union. It has 

 been developing ever since; first the planting for 

 roadside protection and school yard beautification, 

 and then the development of the town and city 

 shade tree commission for protection and conserva- 

 tion of the growing trees which are such a feature 

 of urban and suburban beauty. 



Then came the war. Can anyone say that we do 

 not love and care for trees when we choose them as 

 memorials to those who fell honorably for their 

 country? From the Atlantic to the Pacific has 

 spread the new memorial service of tree planting. 

 Along our highways stands an ever Increasing 

 memorial line; In our parks appear sturdy oaks, 

 elms and maples bearing the names of soldiers. 

 Cities, states, men's clubs and women's, have all 

 taken up the work. One Post of the American 

 Legion has already begun the planting of a real 

 memorial forest. Beginning with a few plots prom- 

 ised for the purpose, and for which the New York 

 State Forestry Department has already set aside 

 some two hundred thousand seedlings, the men of 

 the Herkimer, New York, Post will acquire and 

 plant about five thousand acres of land. They have 

 gone beyond the individual memorial idea to that of 

 a monument perpetually renewed, a monument such 



