First pupil.
Plant in the spring-time the
beautiful trees,
So that in future each soft
summer breeze,
Whispering through tree-tops
may call to our mind,
Days of our childhood then
left far behind.
Days when we learned to be
faithful and true;
Days when we yearned our life’s
future to view;
Days when the good seemed
so easy to do;
Days when life’s cares
were so light and so few.
Second pupil.
Plant trees for beauty, for
pleasure and for health;
Plant trees for shelter, for
fruitage and for wealth.
Third pupil.
NOBILITY.
True worth is in being,
not seeming,
In doing each
day that goes by
Some little good—not
in the dreaming
Of great things
to do by and by.
—ALICE CARY.
Fourth pupil.
PLANTING OF TREES.
Oh, happy trees which we plant
to-day,
What great good
fortunes wait you!
For you will grow in sun and
snow
Till fruit and
flowers freight you.
Your winter covering of snow,
Will dazzle with
its splendor;
Your summer’s garb,
with richest glow,
Will feast of
beauty render.
In your cool shade will tired
feet
Pause, weary,
when ’tis summer,
And rest like this will be
most sweet
To every tired
new-comer.
Fifth pupil.
THE COMING OF SPRING.
When wake the violets, winter
dies;
When sprout the
elm buds, Spring is near;
When lilacs blossom, Summer
cries,
Bud, little rose!
Spring is here.
—LOWELL.
Sixth Pupil.
When we plant a tree,
we are doing what we can to make our
planet a more wholesome
and happier dwelling-place for those
who come after us, if
not for ourselves.
—O.W. HOLMES.
Seventh pupil.
“It is no exaggerated
praise to call a tree the grandest and
most beautiful of all
the productions of the earth.”
—GILPIN, Forest Scenery.
Eighth pupil.
“Kind hearts are the
gardens,
Kind thoughts
are the roots,
Kind words are the blossoms,
Kind deeds are
the fruits.”
Ninth pupil.
What do we plant when we plant
the tree?
We plant the ship which will
cross the sea.
We plant the mast to carry
the sails;
We plant the planks to withstand
the gales—
The keel, the keelson, and
beam and knee;
We plant the ship when we
plant the tree.
Tenth pupil.
What do we plant when we plant
the tree?
We plant the houses for you
and me.
We plant the rafters, the
shingles, the floors,
We plant the studding, the
lath, the doors,
The beams and siding, all
parts that be;
We plant the house when we
plant the tree.