Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 June 1889 — The Origin of Arbor Day. [ARTICLE]

The Origin of Arbor Day.

The honor of originating Arbor Dav belongs to Nebraska, and it was instituted and named bv the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture. The holiday seems of so recent institution that one feels a little surprise to be reminded that it was first observed in Nebraska in April, 1872, and therefore is 17 years old. Over a million trees were planted in Nebraska the first Arbor Day. Two years later it. was the subject of a proclamation by the Governor of the State, and in the winter of 1875 the Legislature passed an act designating the 22d of April as Arbor Day, and making it one of the legal holidays. The idea commended itself so heartily to the people that last year the festival had become established in twentyseven States and three Territories, several of the Stages having by law made it a legal holiday. The Western States, which realize most fully the value of a -forest tree, adopted Arbor Day earliest and with the most enthusiasm, closing the schools, suspending business, and accompanying the ceremonies of tree-planting with songs and speech-making, while liberal annual premiums are awarded in some States for the greatest amount of tree-plant-ing. What varieties of trees and shrubs are best to plant and how to plant them became one of the most interesting subjects of discussion. Kansas followed closely in the wake of Nebraska. Minnesota, lowa, Michigan, Ohio, most of the New England and some of the Southern States soon caught the idea, and many millions of trees and shrubs for service and beauty have been planted as the outgrowth of the Nebraska thought. Arbor Day is now not only an established festival but an educational feature of East, West, and South. It fosters a taste for the beautiful and a love of nature, especially among the school children; it cultivates a spirit of improvement,and teaches a methodical, intelligent system of tree culture and management. New England Homestead.