and to provide for and conduct, under the general supervision of 
the City Superintendent or the School Commissioner, or other 
chief officers having the general oversight of the public schools in 
each city or district, such exercises as shall tend to encourage the 
planting, protection, and preservation of trees and shrubs, and an 
acquaintance with the best methods to be adopted to accomplish 
such results. 
Accordingly, in 1889, and thereafter, the observance has been 
general throughout New York State. 
Practical Methods for Observance in the Schools 
I have sketched the way in which Arbor Day has developed 
from the mere planting of trees to an institution with important 
educational features, so that, as now constituted, it offers unusual 
opportunities for the awakening in the hearts of our boys and 
girls a love of nature and a realization of civic and patriotic duty. 
And so the day ought to be eagerly welcomed and utilized to the 
fullest extent by teachers in every community. 
Formal exercises, such as speeches, readings, and songs, are, 
of course, not indispensable, but they lend a greater dignity to 
the occasion and leave probably a more lasting impression. But 
by all means the main principles relating to the life of a tree 
should be explained as simply and as clearly as possible, such as 
the way it grows, what kinds of food it requires and how it 
gets them, how it breathes, whether or not it feels, and, in short, 
how it is a living being distantly akin to ourselves. The necessity 
for conserving our forests, and in fact, all natural resources, so 
that citizens of future generations may not be deprived of them, 
should be particularly emphasized. In this connection the value 
of trees and forests for timber and forest products may be dis- 
cussed, as well as their importance in regulating stream flow, 
preventing erosion, and acting as barriers to break the force of 
the wind. The whole subject may be brought into line with an 
appeal to patriotism, the spirit of which we must implant in the 
hearts of our future citizens. Therefore, the custom is particularly 
commendable of dedicating trees or groups of trees to great 
statesmen and patriots, and now especially since the last great 
struggle, to those who made the supreme sacrifice and to those 
also who offered their lives. 
The aesthetic side should also not be neglected. What a dull 
place would our land be without the trees ! Contrast glaring city 
streets and bare country with long, cool avenues of magnificent 
stately trees and a landscape clothed with a mighty forest. 
It would seem to be the best plan to talk over these subjects 
with the pupils from time to time as the day approaches in order 
to gradually arouse an interest. The kind of tree to plant, the 
site and method of planting should also be discussed. When the 
day arrives, one of the older pupils might read an essay on 
the history of Arbor Day, preferably composed by himself. The 
following references will be found helpful for such work: 
1. Arbor Day Annual. Bulletins on Arbor Day issued by the 
State of New York Education Department, 1900-1913. Albany. 
