SONG OF DEDICATION—AN ARBOR DAY TREE.
(Air: "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean.")
The tree we are planting on this day.
Is chosen with tenderest care;
May beauty adorn it, hereafter,
And clothe it with usefulness rare.
May green leaves appearing each springtime
Be leaves of a fair book of fame,
And spread to the breezes the story
Extalling the new-given name.
The tree is an emblem of greatness.
As springing from one tiny seed,
It mounts ever upward and onward,
An emblem of greatness, indeed!
The birds sing its praises to others,
The winds carry swiftly the tale
The tree is the monarch of forest,
Of hill, valley, greenwood, and dale.
THE FIRST ARBOR DAY.
What is now known almost throughout the civilized world as "Arbor Day" originated in Nebraska. At an annual meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture, held in the City of Lincoln, Jan. 4, 1872, the Hon. J. Sterling Morton, of Nebraska City, introduced the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted, after some little debate as to the name, some present contending for the word "Sylvan" instead of "Arbor."
"RESOLVED, That Wednesday, the 10th day of April, 1872, be and the same is hereby set apart and consecrated for tree planting in the State of Nebraska, and the State Board of Agriculture hereby name it Arbor Day; and, to urge upon the people of the State the vital importance of tree planting, hereby offer a special premium of one hundred dollars to the agricultural society of that county in Nebraska which shall, upon that day, plant properly the largest number of trees; and a farm library of twenty-five dollars worth of books to that person who on that day shall plant properly in Nebraska the largest number of trees."
Mr. J. T. Allen offered the following resolution, which was also adopted unanimously:
"RESOLVED, That the newspapers of the state be requested by the State Board of Agriculture to keep the resolution in regard to the
