ARBOR DA Y MANUAL. 
357 
NEW YORK STATE PROGRAM, 1889. 
PRELIMINARY CIRCULAR, 1889. 
ARBOR DAY, 1889. 
STATE OF NEW YORK. 
Department of Public Instruction, ) 
Superintendent’s Office, Albany. March 21, 1889. ) 
To the Press and the Public : 
The Legislature of 1888 enacted the following law, approved by the Governor April 30, 1888 : “An Act 
to Encourage Arboriculture,” Chapter 166. 
The People of the Stale of New York , represented in Senate and Assembly , do enaci as follows : 
Section i. The Friday following the first day of May in each year shall hereafter be known throughout 
this State as Arbor Day. 
§2. It shall be the duty of the authorities of every public school in this State, to assemble the scholars in 
their charge on that day in the school building, or elsewhere, as they may deem proper, 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 tt> accomplish such results. 
§ 3. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall have power to prescribe from time to time, in 
writing, a course of exercises and instruction in the subjects hereinbefore mentioned, which shall be 
adopted and observed by the public school authorities on Arbor Day, and upon receipt of copies of such 
course, sufficient in number to supply all the schools under their supervision, the School Commissioner or 
City Superintendent aforesaid shall promptly provide each of the schools under his or their charge with a 
copy, and cause it to be adopted and observed. 
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately. 
The first general observance of Arbor Day in this State, under this act, will be on Friday, May 3, 1889 
■and the duty is imposed upon the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to prescribe a course of exer¬ 
cises to be observed in the schools of the State in carrying out the spirit of the law. 
A program will be published not later than April 15, next, giving somewhat in detail a general plan for 
the information and guidance of those contemplating a formal observance of the day by literary exercises 
or otherwise. This program will give simple directions in reference to the transplanting of trees, and will 
also give such information as may be obtained, touching the kind of trees most suitable for transplanting, 
care and treatment of trees, etc. 
Preliminary to the publication of such program, the Superintendent invites suggestions from all who are 
specially interested in the subject, as to the proper arrangement of a course of exercises, what it should in¬ 
clude, etc., to the end that the observance of the day may be an occasion of interest and benefit to all the 
people, and especially to the school children of the State. 
Pending any further announcement, the following observations and recommendations are submitted : 
The plain intent of the law is to encourage the planting, protection and preservation of trees and shrubs, 
with such other features as will tend to impress upon the minds of all the desirability of beautifying school 
grounds, and of doing something to overcome the destruction of trees made necessary by the demands of 
business and commerce. Something should be done to make more attractive and comfortable the many 
thousand school-grounds of the State which now lack a tree or shrub, either for use or ornament. The 
spirit of the law will be complied with, certainly, at first, by setting out trees about school grounds, dedi¬ 
cating them to distinguished scholars, educators, statesmen, generals, historians or poets, or to people or 
children closely identified with the schools. Where school-house grounds are already sufficiently pro¬ 
tected and beautified, or where school-grounds are so limited as to leave no room for tree planting, trees 
may be planted along the approaches to school-grounds, or in any appropriate place to be selected by the 
school authorities. It is hoped that where school-grounds are too limited to admit trees, that the proper 
authorities may soon be induced to secure additional land. 
The planting of the trees may very properly be supplemented by literary exercises, out of doors when 
■weather permits, and in the school-houses where out-door exercises are not advisable. These exercises 
