12 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
ment of the bolder features, and the large trian- 
gular piece of ground which rises as a hillside back 
of the station, has all of its sharper slopes set with 
shrubs and vines that are intended to form a close 
cover in time. These plantations are composed of 
small trees, shrubs and vines, comprising native 
plants, such as thorns, sumach, elder, hazel, June 
berry, Indian currant, wild grape, bitter-sweet, 
prairie roses, etc., and of cultivated material of 
somewhat unconventional habit, including syringa, 
Japanese barberry, rosa wichuraiana, etc. The 
planting to the east and to the west of the station is 
more gardenesque, and includes Japanese snowball, 
hydrangea, exochorda, clematises in variety, akebia, 
etc., as well as herbaceous material and a generous 
supply of bulbous plants of informal habit, such 
as narcissi in variety, Japanese lilies, and several 
thousand crocuses in the borders and sprinkled 
through the lawns. Several sharp slopes are, how- 
ever, so planted that the ground will eventually be 
clothed with a dense mass of vegetation, it being 
considered inexpedient to attempt to maintain turf 
on such sharp grades, as well as more artistic to 
follow nature’s method of planting such surfaces. 
The effect of this planting will be watched with 
interest, and when established, the result, as well 
as the condition of the ground before planting, will 
be illustrated. Frances Copley Seavey. 
ARBOR DAY— THOUGHTS ON ITS PRACTICAL SIDE. 
Arbor Day is now observed in some forty-two 
states; in the majority of cases the day is appointed 
by proclamation of the governor; In some states 
the Board of Education names the date, but in 
whatever manner the day is set apart, it is a fact 
that it is becoming one of the most universallv ob- 
served days of any in the American calendar of 
public ceremonials. 
As its objects and methods of observance have 
been better understood, it has enlisted the sympa- 
thies and co-operation of the intelligent citizen, 
and prominent educators have become so impressed 
with the results likely to be attained, that the pro- 
grammes arranged for Arbor Day in the public 
schools, are marked by not only features designed 
to captivate the young mind and those of older 
growth, but have an educational value scarcely 
rivaled by any of the usual school exercises. 
There can be no doubt but that the denudation 
of our forest areas has had vast and deleterious 
effects on large areas of the country which will take 
many decades to remedy. Such results were very 
long ago anticipated by the other enlightened na- 
tions, and they have not only retained their forest 
areas in a condition of thorough usefulness, but 
have done so at little or no cost to the government, 
the excess products reimbursing in large measure 
the outlay in care and cultivation. 
Arbor Day has given immense impulse in this 
country to the forestry question; it is affording 
practical instruction in the variety, habits and use- 
fulness of trees, both those of the foiest and those 
particularly adapted to shade and ornamental pur- 
poses, and the study of such a subject for the young 
not only affords a knowledge, highly useful in later 
years, but refreshes and enlightens the mind, while 
at the same time that mind is refined by the soften- 
ing influences of nature. 
A more practical feature of Arbor Day exer- 
cises is the actual planting of trees and shrubs. 
This has been hitherto confined largely to the ad- 
jacent school-house grounds, though in isolated 
cases trees and shrubs have been planted in the 
public square, park and cemetery. 
There is one important fact that must be borne 
in mind in relation to this indiscriminate planting, 
and that is, to be effective and fulfill its mission, it 
should be done under the supervision or guidance 
of one more or less tamiliar with landscape gar- 
dening operations. And each tree or shrub planted 
should be disposed of as a part of a thought out 
plan. By a proper consideration of this main fact, 
every tree and shrub planted this year may, under 
proper conditions, be supplemented by what the 
scholars do next year, until finally a beautiful 
school ground will result. This, however, will be 
impossible of accomplishment unless attention is 
first given to ruling principles unerringly adhered 
to. The incentive, however, of Arbor Day might 
be emphasized by securing a plan of improvement 
for the grounds, and with Arbor Day set apart for 
inauguration ceremonies among the scholars, its 
influence might be extended to other appropriate 
times, and as much as possible of the preliminary 
work of improvement carried out during the cur- 
rent year. A very few years would create a picture 
for all time to come. 
Another practical object for the activities of 
Arbor Day should be the village park, or where no 
such area existed, the public square, or the blank, 
arid spots about the village hall or other public 
buildings. There is a lamentable number of our 
minor towns, villages and hamlets either altogether 
lacking in the natural adornment to which plant 
life contributes, or are subject to so much neglect 
that they might as well be so. Here are the places 
for the local Improvement Association, and here is 
the great opportunity for joining hands with the 
Arbor Day of the schools, to take up the work of 
planting trees and shrubbery where needed. And 
as a rule the amount of material close at hand is 
for the present, generally so abundant, that it is 
