194 



HOME AND FLO^YEBS 



as rapidly curtailing our natural water sup- 

 ply, so that, in a few years, if something 

 radical is not done, we will have seriously 

 crippled our natural resources. The loss 

 to the country by forest fires alone, largely 

 preventable, says Mr. Gifford Pinchol (in a 

 recent issue of Tlie 'World's Work), has been 

 conservatively estimated at $50,000,000 a 

 year. Prof. Pinchol refers to the excellent 

 system of forestry laws in Germany, and 

 makes the following suggestions: 



"1. Each state should own and control 

 those districts where forestry cannot be 

 properly and profitably conducted by private 

 parties. 



"2. The federal government should lend 

 a helping hand. and. in addition, own and 

 control large reservations and parks in those 

 parts of the country which are noted for 

 their beauty or natural wonders. 



"3. Both the state and federal govern- 

 ment should cooperate with the private 

 owner in many ways to 'inform him in ref- 

 erence to forestry matters, and to encourage 

 and induce him to treat his forest land in 

 the proper manner. 



"This cooperation may be applied by the 

 extinguishment and prevention of forest 

 fires; by the construction of roads and fire 

 lanes; by the establishment of schools of 

 forestry, chairs of forestry in agricultural 

 colleges, forestry experiment stations, and 

 model forests; by fair taxation; by the dis- 

 tribution of literature on the subject; by 

 the introduction of valuable species from 

 foreign countries; by the establishment of 

 seed-testing stations; by the distribution of 

 seeds and young trees to those who will 

 care for them; by the establishment of 

 lecture courses to the people in connection 

 with agricultural and horticultural meetings; 

 by aiding in the eradication of insect pests, 

 and by aiding all worthy associations and 

 societies with these objects in view." 



Arbor day exercises in the schools are re- 

 minding the children once, a year that trees 

 are to be planted as well as cut down. 

 Schools of forestry in connection with many 

 of our colleges are cultivating in the hearts 

 and minds of the people a love and under- 

 standing of trees. A number of agricultural 

 associations, notably the Western Penn- 

 sylvania Botanical Society, are urging the 

 planting of trees, not only because of the 

 added charm to the landscape, but on ac- 

 count of the financial return in the shape of 

 better watered land, and of timber. 



New York state has a law providing for 

 the planting of trees along country roads, 

 and the legislature of Pennsylvania has just 

 passed an ordinance which provides that, for 

 every two fruit, shade or forest trees which 

 the property owner shall transplant to the- 

 public highway in front of his own premises, 

 he shall be allowed an abatement of one 

 dollar on his road taxes. The St. Louis 



Civic Improvement League has issued sim- 

 ple printed instructions about tree planting 

 and its value to the city. 



Modern Americans could learn much from 

 the memorial established by a Japanese 

 Prince of generations ago. From his own 

 forest he gave thousands of trees and seeds 

 to be planted along two roads leading to 

 Nikko, where the body of the great general 

 and law giver, lyecsasu, was interred. 

 Many who visit Nikko may forget the love- 

 liness of the mountain scenery, the water- 

 falls and rushing streams, the carving and 

 gilding of the temples, the soft low tones 

 of the bells, the odor of incense and the 

 chanting of priests, but few will forget their 

 twenty-mile ride beneath the overarching 

 branches of the stately trees. What more 

 beautiful memorial than this which benefits 

 rich and poor, prince and coolie alike? 



"A successful man — he leaves clean work 

 behind him. and requires no sweeper-up of 

 chips." — Elizabeth Barrett Browning. 



Joliet's Good Example 



An interesting campaign of betterment 

 has just "made over" Joliet, Illinois. This 

 busy city of 40,000 inhabitants, very well sit- 

 uated from the standpoint of civic beauty, 

 has, up to the present, been too busily en- 

 gaged in oil manufacturing to give much 

 attention to public esthetics. Last spring, 

 however, one of the representative journals 

 of the city inaugurated a campaign for beau- 

 tifying the city. The Joliet Improvement 

 Association was organized. This associa- 

 tion distributed 2,000 packages of flower 

 seeds, and offered prizes for the best flower 

 gardens, to both adults and children. 



This competition was so successful that 

 the city government has been stimulated to 

 conduct a civic house cleaning, resulting in 

 the purchase of two public parks of forty 

 acres each. The School Board now owns two 

 parks of eighteen acres each. The work of 

 the association has added other beneficial 

 results, among them the decoration of the 

 court-house grounds, for which purpose the 

 county supervisors gave the oflicers of the 

 association $1,000; vacant lots in the busi- 

 ness part of the city are now cleaned, and 

 the ground in most of them sodded and 

 planted with flowers; the city superinten- 

 dent is being constantly appealed to for as- 

 sistance in removing old rubbish, and the 

 firemen, the janitors of schools and 

 churches, and the railroad oflicials are aU 

 enthusiastic in the work. 



