INTRODUCTION.

In preparing the second number of our manual for Arbor Day, we have endeavored to keep in mind the fact that Arbor Day was originally designed not as a mere festival or holiday, a pleasant occasion for children or adults, but to encourage the planting of trees for a serious purpose—­the lasting benefit of the country in all its interests.  As the poet Whittier has so well said, “The wealth, beauty, fertility, and healthfulness of the country largely depend upon the conservation of our forests and the planting of trees.”  Arbor Day is not a floral festival, except as the trees may offer their bright blossoms for the occasion.  In making our selections from authors, therefore, we have restricted ourselves to what they have said about trees, and have endeavored also to choose only such selections as are of high literary character, and so, not only admissible for occasional use but worthy to be learned and carried in memory for life; trees of thought which may be planted in the young minds in connection with Arbor Day, to grow with their growth and be perpetual sources of enjoyment.

ORIGIN OF ARBOR DAY.

To J. Sterling Morton, ex-Governor of Nebraska, and Secretary of Agriculture under President Cleveland, belongs the honor of originating this tree-planting festival, and he is popularly known throughout our whole country as the “father of Arbor Day.”  So well has the day been observed in Nebraska since 1872 that there are now over 700,000 acres of trees in that state planted by human hands.

The successful establishment of the day in Nebraska commended it at once to the people of other states, and it was soon adopted by Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota, and was not long in making its way into Michigan and Ohio.

In the latter state it took on a new character, which has caused it to spread rapidly throughout the country.  The teachers and pupils of the schools were invited to unite in its observance, and instead of trees being planted merely as screens from the winds, they were also planted for ornamental purposes and as memorials of important historical events and of celebrated persons, authors, statesmen, and others.  Thus the tree-planting has gained a literary aspect and an interest for all classes, for young as well as old.  In preparation for it the pupils of the schools have been led to the study of trees, their characteristics and uses.  They have learned the history of celebrated trees and of persons who have been connected with them.  They have become familiar with the lives of eminent persons and the best writings of distinguished authors, and thus have received most valuable instruction, while, at the same time, their finer tastes have been cultivated.