48 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
be planted by them at home, pref- 
erabh- out of doors, where they will 
furnish a striking demonstration of the 
sturdy force of tree life, and at the 
same time, if carefully tended, supply 
a few seedlings for next year’s Arbor 
Day planting. For such a project the 
seeds of elms, soft maples, poplars, cot- 
tonwoods, and willows, all of which 
may be found in the spring, offer the 
best of material. 
A number of similar subjects will 
suggest themselves ; for example, a de- 
scription of the largest, the most use- 
ful. the strongest, or the most beauti- 
ful of trees ; or telling how the age of 
trees is counted by the annual rings. 
There is the basis for one story in the 
age of the giant Sequoias, among the 
oldest trees in the world, which have 
stood, some of them, upward of 4,000 
years ; and for another in the news- 
paper, which, like most books and 
man}' inferior papers, is a sheet of 
wood that has been ground and pressed 
and dried. 
The proper season for planting is 
not everywhere the same. Where 
spring is the best season — north of the 
thirty-seventh parallel generally — the 
right time is when the frost is out of 
the ground and before budding begins. 
The day to plant is almost as impor- 
tant as the season. Sunny, windy 
weather is to be avoided ; cool, damp 
days are the best. For this reason it 
is well to leave the date for Arbor Day 
unfixed. All exercises are better de- 
ferred until the planting is done. 
If the trees can not be set out imme- 
A BUSY ARBOR 
Glowing reports of the observance of 
Arljor Day. March 27. come from To- 
peka, Kas., where the work was under 
the direction of the Civic Club. It is 
reported that business was laid aside 
in North Topeka and the residents 
spent the time in observing Arbor Day 
and as a result over 300 trees were 
planted. 
A large force of men started north 
of Gordon street on Kansas avenue and 
■set out elm trees at intervals of fifty 
feet on each side of the street to Gar- 
field park. Among the tree planters 
were business men and laborers who 
worked side by side. Several of the 
merchants who were employed were 
proud to show sore hands and blisters 
from shoveling dirt and digging holes 
for trees ; others were busily engaged 
at trimming trees which were to be set 
out on Kansas avenue or to supply the 
demands of- those who wanted trees for 
diately after being secured, the first 
step is to prevent their roots drying 
out in the air. This may be done by 
standing the roots in a “puddle’’ of 
mud or “heeling-in” the trees by bury- 
ing the roots deep in fresh earth. 
In planting they should be placed 
from two to three inches deeper than 
they stood originally. Fine soil should 
always be pressed firmly — not made 
hard — about the roots, and two inches 
of soil' at the top should be left very 
loose, to act as a mulch to retain the 
moisture. Small seedlings may be se- 
cured easily and cheaply. If these are 
set out in good numbers after the pat- 
tern of a commercial plantation they 
will become in due time a true forest 
on a small scale. No matter how few 
the trees, they may be made to illus- 
trate planting for some useful purpose. 
The scope of planting may some- 
times be broadened by securing per- 
mission for the children to plant a 
small block of trees in some field un- 
suited for crops, and in this way the 
work can be done just as it would be 
done on a larger scale by the forester. 
Outside the scope of the actual plant- 
ing, it is well to bear in mind that Ar- 
bor Day is not the only day in the 
year on which trees deserve to be re- 
membered and cared for. They need 
care throughout the season. Watch- 
ing the plantation thrive under right 
treatment greatly adds to the educa- 
tional value of the work, and to its 
success, which should be its best les- 
son. 
DAY IN TOPEKA 
timir yards. The men who trimmed the 
trees were kept busy all afternoon as 
there was a large number of people 
waiting at all times to get trees. 
A large number of men were em- 
ployed at cleaning the alleys and yards, 
sowing blue grass seed or making im- 
provements in a number of different 
ways. 
Si.x teams and wagons and fourteen 
men of the city street department, un- 
der the direction of Deputy Street Com- 
missioner J. W. Miller were kept busy 
removing the trash and debris. Several 
other wagons donated by the lumber 
yards of North Topeka and from mer- 
chants in other lines of business were 
employed in the same manner. It is 
estimated that more than fifty loads of 
brush, cans and all other kinds of 
debris were hauled from the alleys and 
dumped into the old Shonkweiler hole 
northwest of the city. 
SOME ARBOR DAY DATES 
IN DIFFERENT STATES 
Recognizing the increasing import- 
ance of Arbor Day, and in response to 
a general demand, the American Civic 
Association has prepared a “Suggested 
Arbor Day Program,” published in Bul- 
letin 16 of the organization. 
Arbor Day dates, as given by the 
Bureau oi Forestry, and revised by in- 
formation concerning this year’s dates 
that we have received are as follows : 
Arizona, Friday following first day 
of April and Friday following first day 
of February ; Arkansas, December 15 ; 
California, observed by separate coun- 
ties, but not generally; Colorado, third 
Friday in April ; Connecticut, appointed 
by governor ; Delaware, appointed by 
governor; District of Columbia, not ob- 
served ; Florida, first Friday in Febru- 
ary ; Georgia, first Friday in December ; 
Idaho, last Monday in April; Illinois, 
date fixed by governor and superintend- 
ent of public instruction ; Indiana, last 
Friday in October; Iowa, date fixed by 
proclamation of Congress, this yeai 
April 27 ; Kansas, date fixed by procla- 
mation of Congress, this year March 27 ; 
Maine, date fixed by proclamation of 
governor, usually early in May ; Mary- 
land, in April, date fixed by proclama- 
tion of governor ; Massachusetts, last 
Saturday in April ; Michigan, last Fri- 
day in April ; Minnesota, date fixed by 
proclamation of governor, this year 
April 26; Mississippi, December 10; 
Missouri. April 6 ; Montana, second 
Tuesday in May; Nebraska, April 22; 
Nevada, date fixed by proclamation of 
governor, usually in April ; New Hamp- 
shire, date not fixed, usually in May; 
New Jersey, usually third Friday in 
April, appointed by governor ; New 
Mexico, second Friday in March; New 
York, Friday following first day of 
May ; North Carolina, October 12, usu- 
• ally observed; North Dakota, first Fri- 
day in May; Ohio, second or third Fri- 
day in April ; Oregon, appointment by 
governor, this year April 12 ; Pennsyl- 
vania, appointment by superintendent 
of instruction, one day in spring and 
one in fall, this year April 19 ; Rhode 
Island, second Friday in May; South 
Carolina, third Friday in November; 
South Dakota, date fixed by governor, 
this year May 26; Tennessee, date fixed 
annually in November; Texas, Febru- 
ary 22 ; Utah, April 15 ; Vermont, latter 
part of April or first of May; Washing- 
ton, irregularly observed, date set by 
governor, different dates east and west 
of the Cascades; West Virginia, third 
Friday in April and third Friday in 
November ; Wisconsin, date fixed by 
governor, this year May 10; Wyoming, 
date fixed by governor. 
