ARBOR DAY

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVIII, Issue 239, 6 September 1928, Page 8

ARBOR DAY

AT TERRACE END SCHOOL. ADDRESS BY MR J. H. STEVENS. Arbor Day was celebrated at the Terrace End School yesterday when practically all of the lessons for the dav had a bearing on the occasion. In the afternoon Mr J. H. Stevens briefly addressed the school on “The Lure of Nativo Bush,” telling tho children something of the indigenous plant life of New Zealand. In commencing his remarks the speaker stated that very little could be learnt of the native bush from literature compared with the amount of knowledge to be gained in the forest itself. It was a great source of pleasure to him, ho added, that, having been born in tho bush and having always been fond of plants, ho could distinguish nearly all of the native trees and shrubs by sight. Referring to the celebration of Arbor Day, Mr Stevens quoted the words of a wise man: “If 1 am to die to-mor-row, I will, nevertheless, plant a tree to-day.” That was the true unselfish spirit that was aimed at by the holding of Arbor Day; the spirit of planting for posterity. Not only, however, was there a need in the Dominion for children to cultivate trees, but also to learn to love and know about plant life.

In the New Zealand bush there were somo curious plants not the least of which was tho lancewood, which Charles Darwin had picked out as an example in support of his theory of evolution. When tho lancewood was young its leaves were long and grew downwards while the trunk was covered with spikes. Then, whon thetreo reached a great size, the long leaves were shed and short ones, pointing upwards, grew instead, while the trunk became smooth. Darwin reasoned it out that the tree, being of a hard wood, required much sunlight and so, growing in a dense forest, grew leaves that would catch all refractions of the 6un’s rays. The spikes were to protect it from animals, etc. When it grew high enough, the big leaves were no longer .necessary and short ones reaching up’ to the sun grew instead The derivation of the Maori names

for plants was an absorbing study touching chiefly as it did on Maori legends. As an example tho speaker cited that of tho pua whanaga, a species. of clematis. The literal translation of the Maori name was “the tree of the lost philosophy.” This might be explained by the fact that when the Maori voyagers were completing the last lap of their long journey to New Zealand tho chief worry was that they had no tohungas with them who knew tho “whananga” sufficiently • well. When they landed worn-out with their long journey the first sight that met their eyes was the clematis known as “traveller’s joy” which they hailed as “pua whananga.” He had been told that the only true palm of New Zealand was called the nikau because when they first saw it the' Maoris thought that it was the coco-nut, of which they had grown so fond in the Pacific, their disappointment being expressed in the word, “nikau,” i.e., “no nuts.”

Only about three per cent of New Zealand flowers were coloured, and an eminent authority had held that this was because there were no butterflies or bees to be attracted for cross-fertjl-isation processes. All such work was done bv native birds. Mr Stevens was accorded a very hearty, vote of thanks for his interesting address. Mr W. L. McPherson stated that he would recommend to the committee that a prize be given for the best essay on Mr Stevens’s address. Also he thought that the committee would give a prize to be competed for amongst the various classes for the best kept plot in the garden.