Various

“ But the blossom, his loved one, had died.
Red robin still sits in the bright winter's sun,
But a sorrowing robin is he;
No longer he sings that the springtime has come
When the day is as cold as can be. ”

“ The garden, once a pleasant sight to look upon, becomes an offense to the eye and an object of derision to the passerby, perhaps to the children themselves. What, then, is the use of a school garden?
The school garden's sole and only use is that of an experimental plot with which to teach the conditions influencing the growth of plants and in which to interest children in the study of plant life. Here the soil may be properly fertilized, carefully prepared, thoroughly pulverized, and the seed-bad made by the children themselves under the guidance of the teacher. ”

“ In nature's garden work with Thine.
Give fools their gold and knaves their power;
Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field or trains a flower
Or plants a tree is more than all.
For he who blesses most is blest ”

“ Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord. He shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water that bringeth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also doth not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. ”

“ HISTORY OF ARBOR DAY.
We are taught to value the blessings of life by antithesis. When we are sick we learn to value health; when blind we long to experience the delightful sense of sight; when deaf, we yearn for the music we loved to hear; when in impoverished circumstances physically, we hope for the good things of this world and a comfortable existence. ”

“ I love even those long rain-storms, that sap the icy fortunes of the lingering winter,—that melt the snows upon the hills, and swell the mountain brooks.
I love the gentle thaws that you can trace, day by day, by the strained snow-banks, shrinking from the grass ”

“ The tree is an emblem of greatness.
As springing from one tiny seed,
It mounts ever upward and onward,
An emblem of greatness, indeed!
The birds sing its praises to others,
The winds carry swiftly the tale
The tree is the monarch of forest,
Of hill, valley, greenwood, and dale.
—Florida Arbor Day Annual.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”

“ Since the establishment of Arbor Day, more than thirty years ago, billions of trees have been planted in Nebraska alone. Its observance has extended not only to nearly every state and territory in our Union, but has reached France, Japan and other countries beyond the seas.
The Arbor Day Memorial Association of Nebraska will soon erect a beautiful monument of bronze and granite to the memory of Mr. Morton, but I like to think of him as having for his greatest monument the trees which he loved, and in the light by which he regarded the epitaph on the statue of Sir Christopher Wren. ”

“ Later come those soft, smoky days, when the patches of winter grain show green under the shelter of leafless woods, and the last snow drifts reduced to shrunken skeletons of ice, lie upon the slope of northern hills, leaking away their life. Then the grass at your door grows into the color of sprouting grain, and the buds upon the lilacs swell and burst. The old elms throw down their thin dingy flowers, and color their spray with green ”

“ The woods at first convey the impression of profound repose, and yet, if you watch their ways with open ear, you find the life which is in them is restless and nervous as that of a woman; the little twigs are crossing and twining and separating like slender fingers that cannot be still, the stray leaf is to be flattened into its place like a truant curl; the limbs sway and twist, impatient of their constricted attitude ”

“ The study of agriculture in the country schools must lead the children to investigate for themselves with reference to soil and plant life. Hence the beginnings of the school garden movement in the country school, though crude and unscientific to the expert, are to be commended, for they are a long advance over the do-nothing policy which has prevailed long enough. Let us have the courage to be pioneers in a movement that is right in itself, though we may not be able to see very far ahead. ”

“ It is well that you should celebrate your Arbor Day thoughtfully, for within your lifetime the nation's need of trees will become serious. We of an older generation can get along with what we have, though with growing hardship; but in your manhood and womanhood you will want what Nature once so bountifully supplied, and man so thoughtlessly destroyed ”

“ The rich, joyful chee-e-e-e from the glossy blackbirds poised on the top of a dead weed or slender willow, where they spread their wings so as to show to the best advantage their brilliant patches of red and yellow, mingled with the clearer, sweeter call of Bob-o-link, Bob-o-link from the bright bits of color swaying and fluttering at the very tip of the canebreaks.
"See that bobolink that just lit on that sunflower stalk! Believe I'll see if I can hit him. Too bad to take nothing home," said Hal. ”

“ THE OAK.
A gentleman once stood before an oak tree pondering deeply. Nine miles from the coast of Cornwall lay some dangerous rocks on which many a brave ship had been wrecked. Twice a lighthouse had been erected upon them, and twice destroyed. On what plan could he build a new one, which should stand firm through storm and tempest? The oak tree stands for hundreds of years; branch after branch may be broken off, but never the oak. ”

“ The tremendous unity of the pine absorbs and moulds the life of a race. The pine shadows rest upon a nation. The northern peoples, century after century, lived under one or other of the two great powers of the pine and the sea, both indefinite. ”

“ The varieties of trees that are in greatest demand are those that are desired for general planting. The first purpose of the planter is the formation of a windbreak or shelter belt, and next, the production of shade and other comforts that may be derived from the presence of a grove of trees. The growing of posts and fuel timber is also attracting a great deal of attention and the farmers desire to plant their windbreaks and woodlots of such varieties of trees as will produce all the desirable features of a windbreak and produce timber of suitable size and character for posts and fuel. ”

“ Not many persons would be guilty of such gross neglect, but the fact remains that exposure causes the death of more trees in transplanting than any other single cause. Exposure can usually be easily prevented, and no one who persists in neglectful practices can hope to be successful.
The failure to pack the soil tightly about the roots is a common error in planting. It causes injury in two ways: It leaves the tree unstable, to be rocked to and fro or even blown down by the wind; it also prevents the first growth of rootlets from absorbing food. ”

“ Better not plant a garden at all.
In conjunction with this school garden, and of far greater importance, the pupil may be encouraged to grow plants to complete maturity in the garden at home. Here too, he may have a small plot, all his own, on which to exercise the same industry and care he has been taught to use at school. In this home garden he may profit by his school experience and by better planting, more thorough cultivation, careful thinning and the like, bring his plants to complete and more nearly perfect maturity. ”

“ The school ground being permanent and the need of trees continuous, for the most part long-lived trees should be used. But where the present need of trees is great, there is another side to the question. A short-lived tree grows quickly, coming into early usefulness and serves its purpose for from twenty-five to fifty years. A long-lived tree usually grows more slowly, but serves its purpose for a century or more. In many cases it is advisable to use the two kinds in such a way that the long-lived trees will become useful about the time the short-lived trees reach maturity. ”

“ It grows rapidly and adapts itself well to all kinds of soil. The wood is hard, heavy, strong, difficult to split, and durable when placed in contact with the soil. It makes good fuel, but the principal value of the tree lies in its use as a shape tree, and for that purpose it ranks first among all the trees grown in Oklahoma. It does not grow as rapidly for the first few years of its life as does the soft maple and black locust, but it far surpasses these trees in all purposes where a good shade tree is part of the object for which the tree is planted. ”

“ For the nation, as for the man or woman and the boy or girl, the road to success is the right use of what we have and the improvement of present opportunity. If you neglected to prepare yourselves now for the duties and responsibilities which will fall upon you later, if you do not learn the things which you will need to know when your school days are over you will suffer the consequences. ”

“ Too often the work has been impulsive and the interest transient. Trees planted with ceremonious dignity in April have died of neglect before September, and those that survived have been left to fight unaided their battles for existence. So little attention has been paid to the choice of trees and to the methods of planting that those entirely unfit for the situation have often been used, and have been planted in places where they could not receive protection while young, or serve any useful purpose when grown. Arbor Day has often come on dry, windy days, or clear out of season for planting. ”

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"Nature is mythical and mystical always, and works with a license and extravagance of genius. She has her luxurious and florid style as well as art. Having a Pilgrim's Cup to make, she gives to the whole—stem, bowl, handle, and nose—some fantastic shape, as if it were to be the car of some fabulous marine Deity, a Nereous or Triton."
—HENRY DAVID THOREAU.
THE GLADNESS OF NATURE.
Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,
When our mother Nature laughs around;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground? ”

“ In many parts of the country cultivation is absolutely essential, and nearly everywhere a tree will thrive better and grow faster during its early years with cultivation than without. The purposes of cultivation are mainly to protect young trees from the encroachment of weeds and grass, to keep the soil in good physical condition, and to retain the moisture. Good cultivation is that which serves these purposes without injuring the trees. ”

“ In the first place, few teachers and pupils should attempt to grow anything to maturity in school gardens. The reason for this is plain. The country schools close during the latter part of May and early June; the teacher goes to her home, and the little garden in which all have taken such pleasure and pride, lies neglected and forgotten, during the very weeks in which it needs the most attention and care. In a few days, at this rapidly growing season of the year, the weeds have overrun the garden and a little later have completely starved out the plants. ”

“ Two or three groups may be introduced where they will not interfere with the playground or obscure attractive views.
KIND OF TREES TO PLANT.—The first rule to lay down is to plant only the kinds that are known to be hardy. A school-ground plantation is no place for experiment. Naturally the trees will have to endure greater hardships than those of a private plantation; they will be likely to have less cultivation and may be subject to more abuse. No matter how strict the rules, the soil about them will be more or less tramped, and twigs will sometimes be broken from their tops. ”

“ Few men who won distinction in civil life are entombed in St, Paul's, but among them is the gifted architect, Sir Christopher Wren, in whose brain the concept of St. Paul's Cathedral had a mental existence before it materialized in massive marble. His epitaph is plain, brief, truthful, impressive; it is one which each honorable man in all the world may humbly strive for and become the better for the striving ”