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Show LEAVES' from Wff Arbor Day and Its Values Although Arbor day, as such, is a purely American institution, one would have to explore the very mist! of antiquity to discover the earliest ear-liest ceremonial tree plantings. There have been sacred groves, anc memorial avenues in all ages. However, How-ever, Arbor day originated in Nebraska, Ne-braska, in 1872, the idea having it! inception with J. Sterling Morton, then a member of the state boarc of agriculture. He introduced a resolution res-olution to the effect that Wednesday, the 10th day of April, 1872, be specially spe-cially set aside for the planting oi trees, in the then almost treelesi state of Nebraska. The plan wai widely publicized, and widely ap proved, so that on the appointed day more than a million trees were planted in Nebraska. One of the greatest values of Arbor Ar-bor day has been that it calls attention atten-tion annually to the need for conservation conser-vation of the forest resources ol America, and to the great economic value of all forest areas and farrr. woodlands. The observance of this tree-planting day reminds Americans, Ameri-cans, each year, that we still havf millions of idle acres, once tree-covered, tree-covered, now offering little except the hazard 'of brush-covered, cut-over cut-over lands. We are reminded that all those idle acres could be and should be rehabilitated. As a re cent government bulletin says: "Forests in this country have not always been managed in the public interest. In the past this nation's forest wealth has been subjected tc exploitation and devastation on s gigantic scale. Millions of acres oi natural forest lands have been converted con-verted to wastelands by destructive cutting and fire. These millions oi acres represent the huge problem ol forest restoration now facing the country." As a result of the observance oi Arbor day and of the interest in forest for-est conservation which it has nourished, nour-ished, the reforestation of all foresi lands has been greatly accelerated. Industrial organizations, schools, colleges, and individual timberlanc owners had planted, by the close of 1938, more than 2,000,000 acres. It is encouraging to note that extensive ex-tensive public forest areas are now owned, policed, planted, and generally gen-erally supervised by villages, towns, school districts, townships, counties, multiple-county organizations, and many similar groups who have acquired ac-quired the properties sometimes bj purchase, sometimes by the reversion re-version of tax - delinquent lands, sometimes by gift. COMMUNITY FOREST ORGANIZATIONS The objective in the creation and management of community forests may be to produce income from the sale of timber, the proceeds to be devoted to the public welfare; tc provide employment and to improve the prosperity and well-being of the city, town or county; to provide game reserves or bird sanctuaries or public playgrounds; to protect reservoirs and watersheds; to provide pro-vide fuel or funds for relief purposes; pur-poses; or merely to serve as a memorial me-morial to some citizen who has deserved de-served well of his neighbors. Probably Prob-ably no better use could be made oi Arbor day than to use it, first, foi the establishment of a community forest area, and thereafter to maintain main-tain local interest in, and local support sup-port and protection of such an area. FOREST PLANTING ON FARM LANDS Unused, or badly eroded farm lands may be made profitable by the planting upon them of small foresi trees. Such tree plantings may serve a double or triple or even a multiple multi-ple purpose: They check and prevent pre-vent erosion; they provide shelter from icy winter winds and burning summer suns; they produce, in time, a permanent supply of fuel; if they are properly located they hold back the drifting snows from roads and farmstead yards; they give greater beauty to the farm scene; lastly, and of equal importance, they provide nesting places for the birds which help to rid the fields and gardens oi harmful insects and noxious weeds. SPRINGBOARD FOR CIVIC ENTERPRISE For P.T.A.'s, for granges and Earmers' clubs, for Boy and Girl Scouts and 4-H clubs, the annual Arbor day offers a very strong and convenient peg upon which to hang an enterprise which will be of great and lasting benefit to the community the initiation of a community forestry for-estry project. As the bulletin previously pre-viously quoted well says: "The spirit of Arbor day is unique in that it looks not backward but always al-ways forward. For further information send tea cents to Superintendent ol Documents, Washington. Washi-ngton. D. C. asking tor Farmers' Bulletin Wo. 1192. PLANT-LOUSE DESTROYER The larva of the beautiful lace-wing lace-wing fly is called the aphis-lion because be-cause of the great numbers of aphids which it kills. These larvae are so ravenous and ferocious that they would devour one another if the lace-wing did not guard against such voracity. She lays her eggs, singly, on the tips of stiff grass stems so that each larva as it hatches crawls down and goes about its business without molesting the Diners. When the larva is ready for pupation it spins a silken cocoon. |