the life is so hard that only the hardiest can stand it. If we name
Norway Maple, Ginkgo, Sycamore, White Elm, Red Oak, the list of the
best is exhausted. Others may often be planted where conditions are
favorable, and for lawns and parks the list of availables is almost
endless, but in any case the wisest course is to avoid novelties and
get some one who is experienced to do the planting.
But more important than to plant a tree is to protect and develop one
already in the right place. This applies especially to trees beside
country roads. A newly planted tree has a precarious hold on life for
several years, whereas an old one has survived many dangers. Let,
therefore, the care of the trees that are found in place be the first
concern. Guard them from all that may increase their infirmities, keep
in check the insects that seek to destroy them, have their wounds
attended to and their branches pruned where necessary. This is work for
one who knows how, not for the butcher who "tops" a tree "to make it
grow"; or for the "tree doctor" who uses cement without knowing whether
it will do good or do harm. Reputable men can be found to do any work
of this kind. Under wise direction there should be no hesitation about
cutting down a tree that is in the way. In many places houses and
streets are too much shaded.
The fundamental idea to be grasped is that every tree is an organism;
in one view an individual, in another a community. We must satisfy at
least its strongest requirements or it cannot live. To the extent that
all are satisfied is the tree healthy and vigorous.
FORESTS
As with trees so with the tree communities called forests. Our duty in
New Jersey is to improve the forests we have rather than to concern
ourselves about getting more. Of course, waste land may be redeemed by
planting with trees, but where there is a remnant of the old forest,
nature can be trusted to bring another if she is given a fair chance.
The forest secured in this way may not yield so much lumber as one that
was planted, and it will not satisfy a forester, but it will answer our
most immediate needs, and can be secured more quickly than any other.
And again, as with trees, let no one fear to have a forest cut off when
its time comes. Forest trees were made for use and if they are not used
as they mature, nature will get rid of them by decay. That this must be
so will appear when one observes that in any piece of native woods room
is made for young trees by the fall of old ones that have lived their
term.
WHY FORESTS ARE GOOD
Nature clothed most of the habitable earth with forests of one kind or
another and evidently meant that they should serve mankind. This they
do by furnishing wood for shelter and for warmth (seven-eighths of the
people of the world still use wood for fuel), by providing grateful
shade in summer and protection from cold winds in winter, by preventing
the soil on steep hillsides from being lost by erosion, by regulating
the flow of streams. The contention that forests cause rainfall, or
materially influence the climate of a country, is not established. The
weight of evidence indicates that forests thrive in proportion to the
rainfall rather than that the rain falls in proportion to the extent
of forests. And in respect to stream flow we must distinguish between
a mountainous or hilly country and a country that is flat; and whether
the rain commonly falls in brief, heavy storms or in frequent gentle
showers. For instance, we can say with assurance that in North Jersey a
forested watershed will discharge a purer, more regular stream than one
that is unforested, while in South Jersey the influence of the forest
upon the streams is negligible.
THE FORESTS OF NEW JERSEY
As the climate of New Jersey is much the same in all parts, the
character of our forests is determined chiefly by soil conditions.
Fortunately we have a great diversity, and between the northern and
southern sections, strong contrasts. The line separating these sections
is nowhere sharply defined but is commonly assumed to run more or less
irregularly from Long Branch to Salem.
The forests of North Jersey, supported by soils of considerable
fertility, are almost universally of the mixed hardwood type common to
the greater part of the central United States east of the Mississippi
River. That is, they are composed of a variety of deciduous trees in
which are many oaks, chestnut, beech, several maples, ashes, hickories,
elms, birches, etc. As exceptions or variants to the type are swampy
areas in which black spruce and hemlock are dominant, and sterile
mountain crests bearing the pitch pine and scrub oak of the poorest
South Jersey sands. This kind of forest, in which each species occupies
the position to which it is best adapted, and from which therefore all
competitors are excluded, is considered by ecologists the most highly
developed vegetable society.
And about and among these forests is the most fully developed human
society--villages, towns and cities.
Practically all these forests have been several times cut over and many
times burned. Individual trees about settlements are often noble and
imposing, and occasional groves of fine trees are found, but the forest
is only a reminder of what it was--and a promise of what it may be.
In South Jersey the contrast with North Jersey is emphasized in
every way. Instead of hills and valleys the land is level or gently
rolling. Near the Delaware and at numerous points in the interior are
fertile soils and thriving communities, but much of the territory is
characterized by sand and forests of pine, with an undergrowth of scrub
oak, often covering hundreds of thousands of acres. This condition
justifies the common name of the region "The Pines," though variations
in soil frequently give rise to considerable areas of tree oaks, and
swamps of white cedar border many of the streams.
On the sandy land profitable agriculture is full of uncertainties;
but forestry is not, for there the pitch pine, though burned almost
to extinction by the fires that for years swept annually across the
level reaches, persists and wherever given a few years' immunity from
fire, sends up its arms of living green. Here is the great forest area
of the state; one of those tracts fitted by nature to maintain trees
of a single kind, or single class. These "pure" forests, so called
in contrast to the mixed forests of richer regions, are found in the
southern states, in the far North and in the Rocky Mountains. They are
easily developed, easily logged, and always will be, as they now are,
the chief source of the world's lumber supply.
FIRE
The key to the forest problem in New Jersey, as in every state, is
the control of fire. A few years ago it was an undenied fact that
more forest was destroyed by fire every year than by the ax. Burning
the forest to make plow-land was justifiable when trees were an
encumbrance, but the practice got us into bad habits. From being a
servant, fire became a master. Without fires, we in New Jersey can and
will have all the forest we need; with fires, that which is bad becomes
worse.
The lesson for Arbor Day, and for every day, therefore, is to urge and
require that no forest shall be burned. It is good fun to sit about
a camp-fire, yet the danger that the fire will escape and do harm is
great. Even a surface-fire that apparently burns only dry leaves, and
is often set for that purpose, will kill the young trees that are just
starting on the struggle for life. Fortunately New Jersey is getting
her fires under control. Firewardens are located wherever there are
forests; their duty is to prevent fires by every means possible, and if
a fire is started they must summon men to put it out. The forests are
already responding to this protection and proving their ability to take
care of themselves when relieved of the frightful handicap that has
been upon them for generations.
PRACTICAL FORESTRY
Though fire control will make a forest where conditions are favorable
as here, the skill of a forester is needed to make it a good and a
productive forest. Here is applied a knowledge that is more intimate
than that which serves to recognize a tree or to provide for its
physical well-being. The successful forester must be a practical
scientist in many departments; must have executive ability and be a
capable business man. All who cannot meet these requirements should be
discouraged from seeking to make forestry their profession.
PARKS
Every urban community needs parks where those who live in close
quarters can find fresh air. And a state with many cities must make it
possible for the people to get into the open--not for an hour only, but
for days and weeks. New Jersey can do this in the woodlands that are so
near to most of the large cities. It is not always necessary that the
state take title to the land; few owners object to reasonable use and
almost all would gladly remove every restriction if they were assured
that the privilege would not be abused.
The timber forests of continental Europe are universally used as great
public parks. Good roads make all parts accessible and the tourists are
so accustomed to behave themselves that no serious harm is done. We can
have ample parks of this kind at no more cost than assuring the owners'
material interests.
STATE AID
The state of New Jersey is prepared to help its citizens in any
interest connected with the soil. The State Forester, Trenton, will
advise individuals or communities regarding the care of shade trees
and the planting or management of forests. The Agricultural Experiment
Station, New Brunswick, and the Department of Agriculture, Trenton,
will afford similar assistance upon any subject connected with farms,
orchards or gardens. Anyone who wants to know about any of these
subjects has the right to ask questions and to seek advice.
ARBOR DAY MAY BE OBSERVED BY PLANTING A HAMILTON GROVE
CHARLES A. PHILHOWER, SUPERVISING PRINCIPAL, WESTFIELD
The following fitting observance of Arbor Day, commemorating an
historic incident in the life of Alexander Hamilton, was conducted
in Mindowaskin Park, Westfield, April 12, 1918. The program took its
origin from the following narrative:
Alexander Hamilton, in the year 1801, planted a grove of thirteen
trees at his home, "Hamilton Grange," 143d Street, west of Convent
Avenue, New York City. The trees were the liquidambar styraciflua,
sweet or red gum, and were sent from the South. Each one of the
thirteen trees was named for one of the thirteen original colonies.
The group of trees was later known as the "Hamilton Grove." Martha
Washington became greatly interested both in its upkeep and in its
preservation.
The program was as follows.
* * * * *
The schools marched to the park with flags and assembled en masse.
As the flag was raised, the Star Spangled Banner was sung, a cornetist
leading.
Address by Honorable Arthur N. Pierson.
Song, "Over There."
Planting of trees: Each of the thirteen grades, from the kindergarten
through the twelfth grade, planted a tree. As the trees for the states
were planted the following passages were read. When the New Jersey tree
was planted the whole audience joined in the response.
Massachusetts
This tree we plant as a memorial to the great state of Massachusetts,
noted for its patriots and its learning. As thy emblem, the pine tree,
points to heaven, may thy ideals lead us on.
New Hampshire
Land of the Great Stone Face, look over these United States of ours
with a watchfulness that will keep us true and steadfast in the cause
of democracy.
Rhode Island
Grow, thou tree of life, as the spirit of religious liberty has grown
in this broad land of ours.
Connecticut
As the famous Charter Oak kept thy government free and unmolested, so
may the branches of this tree perpetuate to the world the constitution
under which we as a nation live.
New York
The towering buildings of thy metropolis cry as they mount heavenward
"Excelsior." May thy slogan be the slogan of our nation.
New Jersey
Proud are we of this the "Garden State of the Union." We love thee and
the great Union of which thou art a part. For thee and our country we
live and serve.
Pennsylvania
Live to the memory of thy founder, William Penn, father of peace and
justice. This boon we would give to the world.
Maryland
Song--"Maryland, My Maryland."
Delaware
Long live the memory of this first state of the Union. May we show to
the world, "In Union there is Strength."
Virginia
Home of the father of Our Country, to thee we dedicate this tree.
Washington, give us that courage that held thee to the great cause of
freedom.
North Carolina
The cypress tall and majestic is the tree of this state. Majestic may
this country of ours stand among the nations of the world.
South Carolina
Like the palmetto which bends its branches over all who come to its
shade, spread to all the benediction of life and liberty.
Georgia
Refuge of the oppressed. May the charity of thy founders characterize
us as a nation.
Song, "America."
A record of the plantings was filed in the school. On each succeeding
Arbor Day each class which planted a tree will see whether its tree is
growing. Should the tree perchance have died, another will be planted
in its place. Other trees than the sweet gum may be used in some
localities with greater certainty of thriving.
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS
K. C. DAVIS, FORMERLY OF STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, NEW BRUNSWICK
As the season of planting is upon us and all nature is preparing to
show her most gorgeous dress, we should interest the pupil in ways of
beautifying the school. There is not a school in the land that cannot
be made better, and many of them may be improved very much. The pupils
will take a great interest in the matter if they receive a little
encouragement and leadership on the part of their teachers.
Beautify the school grounds. A woven wire trellis supporting a thrifty
vine would be a splendid screen for unsightly outbuildings. Shrubs
about the foundations of the school building, in the angles of walks,
and in natural clumps in the corners of the grounds would add beauty
to the school surroundings. A few plots not used for play nor for
garden may be grassed. Never scatter the trees or shrubs openly about
the lawn area. Better mass the shrubs in natural clumps in angles
or foundations, walks and borders. Use the trees along boundary and
division lines. Native trees and shrubs are always preferable to
imported or exotic kinds.
PLANNING FOR ARBOR DAY
Arbor Day plans should be begun early and should include a number of
lines of preparatory work.
Send for the bulletins first.
Draw plans of the grounds, measuring the lines and distances to make it
somewhat accurate. If a class is assigned to this task the best map may
be framed for the future use of the school. A passepartout binding, at
least, may be used. This map may show the plan of planting for several
years if there is more to be planted than can be done this year. The
walks, buildings, clumps of shrubs, trees, school garden, playgrounds,
etc., should all be shown.
This work may be done by arithmetic or geography classes. The
arithmetic class may also find suitable dimensions for the corn-contest
plots.
Have the reading classes read about birds, gardening, trees, lawns,
weeds, etc. Use the newer words in spelling exercises. Let boys and
girls both make bird-houses at home. These may be ready to put up on
Arbor Day.
The corn testing and seed study should begin at once.
Trees, shrubs and seeds that are to be planted on Arbor Day, or soon
after, should be ready in advance. The roots of trees and shrubs must
be temporarily covered with soil to prevent drying out.
Some exercises in root grafting of apples may be carried out as
described in two of the bulletins, 113 and 408.
Tools to be used in the planting of school grounds may be brought by
pupils from their homes; the list available for the purpose should be
made in advance.
Divide the students into suitable groups for the work, so that each
will know his part.
Invite parents and home folks to the work of Arbor Day, and make it
a community exercise. The men may come in the morning to work, and
the women may come with lunch baskets at noon, both staying until the
exercises are over.
Plan to have some one take pictures of the children and patrons while
the improvement work is going on.
Do not forget to have some manure and good soil hauled in advance.
SUGGESTIVE PROGRAMS
I
1. Remarks by the teacher or a member of the school board on the
value of teaching the useful and beautiful as well as the
classical and historical.
2. Have five pupils stand together. The first pupil will read from
this pamphlet or tell in his own way why we should all know more
about trees; the second about insects; the third about weeds;
the fourth about birds; and the fifth about corn.
3. Have five girls stand and each tell a few things about some
useful bird.
4. Have a boy who has made a bird box tell how bird boxes are a
protection to young birds, and how he made his.
5. Have a boy tell of some ways of destroying English sparrows,
learned from U. S. Farmers' Bulletin 383.
6. Another boy should tell how to distinguish English sparrows from
other sparrows and common birds.
7. Have some of the best tree planters tell how to plant a
tree--preparation of soil, roots, pruning and actual planting.
_Note._ In any or all of these exercises pupils may get the subject
matter from this pamphlet and from bulletins referred to in it. They
may make note on paper of what they wish to say and speak from these
notes. If the time for preparation be very short the points may be
copied and read directly. Let each exercise be very short.
II
1. Announcement of outlines of contests in school or home
gardening, corn growing, or other work the school may be
planning, and the premiums offered for the contests and exhibits
next fall.
2. Some pupils may tell of several benefits of trees and forests,
or five pupils may stand together and each tell of one important
benefit.
3. Have a pupil describe how to test seed corn by the individual
ear method.
4. Have two pupils tell of the two types of insect moths, each
telling how to control such insects.
5. Have a boy tell of three or four things necessary to improve the
home lawn. (See U. S. Bulletin 248)
6. Have three pupils stand and each take one part
(_a_) Use of vines to beautify the grounds at school or home,
naming some vines to use in certain places
(_b_) Use of trees in same way
(_c_) Use of shrubs in same way
THE VALUE OF OUR FORESTS
Few people ever think of a forest as a place to store water. Who
would think that "the woods" hold water as well as a mill pond or a
reservoir! But they do, although we cannot see the water they hold,
except, perhaps, as a pool here and there; and yet this is one of the
most important functions that a forest can perform.
All of us have noticed in walking through the woods how soft and
springy the ground is. A thick carpet of leaves, twigs, and decayed
wood covers the earth, sometimes to a depth of several feet. It is very
porous, and it absorbs water like a sponge. When storms come and rain
falls in torrents, it does not beat directly upon the ground under
the trees because the raindrops first strike the leaves and branches
above. The water then trickles gently down and soaks into the leafy
carpet. If the forest is extensive a very large quantity of water is
absorbed--enough to prevent floods except in extraordinarily long
periods of rain. Gradually through the weeks and months that follow
the absorbed water oozes out of low places as "springs," and it dashes
merrily away in little brooks that continue to form creeks and rivers
which flow peacefully and steadily out to sea.
If there are no trees, no leaves to break the beating rain, no spongy
mold to hold the water when it falls, no matted roots to prevent
washing, the big raindrops spatter upon the earth and quickly form
rushing streams that wash the ground into gulleys. The bare earth
absorbs some water, to be sure, but far less than the humus of the
forest. If the rains are continued the rivers are soon filled beyond
the capacity of their banks and they spread over the neighboring
valleys, carrying devastation with them. After the heavy rains cease,
the flood waters subside as suddenly as they had arisen and the streams
dwindle to insignificance, sometimes completely drying up in a long,
hot summer.
Thus it is that forests act as great reservoirs and aid in preventing
disastrous floods and in maintaining the flow of streams at a rate that
is nearly uniform all the year round.
Now let us see what use is made of the trees. The greatest of all is
for firewood; but this is largely the decaying or faulty trees from
the farmer's woodlot, the waste product of a lumber region, or from
land that is cleared for cultivation. It is said that about 100,000,000
cords are used annually.
The greater part of the salable timber, however, is sawed into lumber,
which is used in a variety of ways. The first and greatest use of
lumber is for building houses, barns, sheds, outbuildings and fences.
Next comes furniture of all kinds--chairs, tables, beds, and all other
house, office, and school furniture; musical instruments; vehicles
of all kinds--wagons, carriages, buggies, and parts of automobiles;
agricultural implements--plows, harrows, harvesters, thrashing
machines, and other farm implements.
Car building is another great use for lumber--freight cars, passenger
cars, and trolley cars. Other important uses for timber are as
cross-ties, poles for telegraph and telephone lines, and "shoring" or
supports in mines. Even more trees are used in the manufacture of paper
than for these purposes. Then there are various small articles used in
the home, such as spools, butter dishes, fruit crates, baskets, boxes,
all kinds of tools, toys, picture frames, matches, pencils, clothes
pins, toothpicks, etc. These are little things, but so many of them
are used that they consume a great deal of wood. Next we derive tannic
acid for tanning leather, turpentine and rosin, maple sugar, and many
extracts used in making medicines.
So valuable are the forests that the whole nation is interested in
preserving them. No one is benefited more by them than the farmer, and
no one should be more interested in them.--_U. S. Bureau of Education
Bulletin, "Agriculture and Rural Life Day"_
BIRDS
"The Study of Birds and Bird Life in the Schools of New Jersey," by Dr.
Robert G. Leavitt, of the Trenton State Normal School, published by
this Department, should be consulted.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
See Bibliography at end of monograph.
MEMORIAL DAY
May 30
THE SLEEP OF THE BRAVE
How sleep the brave, who sink to rest
By all their country's wishes blessed!
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold,
Returns to deck their hallowed mold,
She there shall dress a sweeter sod
Than Fancy's feet have ever trod.
By fairy hands their knell is rung;
By forms unseen their dirge is sung;
There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray,
To bless the turf that wraps their clay;
And Freedom shall awhile repair,
To dwell a weeping hermit there!
_William Collins_
MEMORIAL DAY
GEORGE C. BAKER, SUPERVISING PRINCIPAL, MOORESTOWN
SUGGESTIVE PROGRAM
Flag Salute
Song--"Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Story of Memorial Day
Stories from the battle-fields of 1861 and 1918, told by larger
pupils, adult members of the community, or soldiers
"The Blue and the Gray"
Song--"Keep the Home Fires Burning"
"The Gettysburg Address"
"In Flanders Fields"
Song--"America" or "The Star Spangled Banner"
Preparatory to the making and carrying out of a Memorial Day program,
the teacher, a group of pupils or some wide-awake member of the
community should talk about the sacrifices made by the soldiers of our
country during the different wars in which we have been engaged; what
great principles they have fought for, and why we should honor their
memory in the public schools of our land. Throughout the preparation
and the execution of the program there should be a consciousness of the
debt we owe to those who have fought and died for freedom's cause. The
simplest program prepared in this spirit will be of lasting value to
the children of the school and to the members of the community in which
the exercises are held.
Pupils and teachers should talk over fully the kind of program to be
given. Much responsibility should be placed upon the pupils for the
making of the program. They should make all "projects" necessary for
the carrying out of the program, and should invite all patrons and
friends in the community.