ARBOR DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8061, 13 July 1904, Page 3

ARBOR DAY.

tfOT OBSERVED IN CHRiSTCHURCH. Ejicept for ,th e olosing oi a f| W Govei'nmeAt office^ Arbor Day/ki Christchurch is passing away this year ngaiii without re- •".. cognition. Tho wither, ccr^lnly, h v«ry tlnprcrpitious foi' Observation of the day, \but even if thera had been, a blu& sky ovcriH*a4j dry- ground underfoot, and a. clear at«l6Spllißre, public tree-plsntifig would not •have taken place, ais no one cvioltintiy has looked forward to the <dtiy, and no prsparation* ihav6 bedft ltiads, Apaihy in this di- ' reckon has been- - noticeable for several 3*4*B, Indeed; tIJO GoVerament's" effort?. •itt eßteblishing Arbor Day in New ZealaMd 3ia,ve( received very poor support from the Ijvublic of pantefbUry. For some years Mr /M, "Murphy Endeavoured to instil enthu ; ' ida*m into the younger members of the communifcy, and tree-planting opera- . tions aaaotig tiip Bdhpoi'-children, but even ■his was damped by the .geiieral apathy, and during lato years lie ihas ceaSod ; to-bfrfltir 'Mttmit in this direction. Vi • The GroVetnmenti was induced to proclaim a New Zealand' Arbor Day by the ' lemarkaible results achieved in tae United States, IVh«fe tM hiOvehient is general and • Jopulai 1 . Ar.bor Daly there has done a ' ..■■-' g*eafc deal for forectfj*, and those who •-'. ' com© after in New Zealand' will regret tliat the .same consideration", was not shown by v the present geMr&tion, just as tier© is rejjrel now that the early -settlers of Cahterbury did nofc takd jiOßodi'ied' action in. plant-- ' ing these treeless plains. T&e first Arbor Day 1 in New Zealand was .' proclaimed on August 4^ 1902, but the date ■ was altered laster on to July 13. Th« credit of inaugurating a public holiday spedevote to iree-pianting b«l&ngs to "..■■■' Kebrafikft. Ift that Stat*, in JanuaQr, ■ V" I^?4, the State Board of Agriculture dedi r : - is&ted a. »d^r to' Site work of tfees. ."'-the id«a was wel<k>med by the people of ..:.4l» -Stale.- It> was announced', that, aS a •■■... ir^ult-, no fewer than 12.000,000 trees were pltatfcd in tha* State in -tlio year 1874. < Nebraska's example, was soon followed by otihief States, each year saw the growth of milli&M of trees fc&at would never have Ijeen planted 'had it not been for the institution of Arbor Days. Later on ths scope ; of the ;daj7 was widened, and ti« interest in it was jncreased by inducing tie pupils «f tl« public Bchools-to engage in its' ob.^ ''■'. „jerv.anoe.. . .-..-- . ... ■ V It is pointed! out, that New Zealand's B&tiv© forests are disappearing rapidly, '■'■' and that a observance of ArbOrDay " by th« Government, the local bodies, the aud. the school-tfhildren would' ma- :■'! ■ terially :ohetk tin tbr-eatfined destruction.; ' ■ It is alstK Urged that quick-growing foreign trees* stifch'a* ash, «tot, beech, and larch, „ ghoaia planted on oj largo scale, (spel■■.'".. ciaJly itt Canterbury. .