M V
10 * Cbe Conservative *
THE WATCHMAN.
fling nntl clang , ding anil clang !
Listen , little children dear !
Cling und clang , cling and clang !
See , the night is drawing near.
Now , at closing of the day
Dreamland bells ring far away.
No more frolicl No more play !
Cling and clang , cling and clang !
Rings the "Watchman looking down
From his tower in Sleepy Town.
Twinkling here , twinkling there ,
Stars are whining in the sky.
Bright and round , bright and round
Thi > moon is coming by and by.
In the street the shadows fall ,
Mothers' voices gently call ,
Little birds in tree tops tall ,
Hnlf asleep , faintly peep ,
While the Watchman's looking down
From his tower in Sleepy Town.
Swing and chime 1 Sleepy time !
O , how soft the bells and low.
Swing and chime ! Sleepy time !
As to bed good children go.
The Him is hiding in the west ,
Little ones must go to rest
In a white and downy ni'st ,
Swing and chime ! Sleepy time !
Kings the Watchman looking down
From his tower in Sleepy Town.
"All is well ! All is well ! "
The Watchman's cry is clear and sweet.
Ho leaves the far-off , silent bell
And smiling comes along the street.
Now , in and out ho softly treads
And bends above the little beds
With fairy dreams for pretty heads.
"All is well ! All is well ! "
Cries the Watchman coming down
From his tower in Sleepy Town.
MAUV FHKXCH MOHTON.
AKHOIl DAY PROCLAMATION.
"The groves were Gorl's first temples. Ere
man learned
To hew the shaft , and lay the architrave
And spread the roof above them ere ho
framed
The lofty vault , to gather and roll back
The sound of anthems ; in the darkling wood ,
Amid the cool and silence , ho knelt down ,
And offered the mightiest solemn thanks
And supplication. "
The broad fertile plains , the 'gentle
uplands , and the beautiful valleys of
our grand state seem to lack nothing to
make them perfect except groves and
forests. No fairer landscape can be
seen in all the world than is presented
in the portions of Nebraska where time
has brought to perfection the work of
the pioneers in tree planting.
The planter of grain plants for him
self. The planter of trees plants for
others. The one plants for the present ,
the other for the future.
With much wisdom our laws set
apart a day each year devoted to tree
planting. I would most earnestly call
upon all our people to give it special
observance this year. Lot each school
boy plant at least one tree which
may be a shade for his noon time of
life. Let every young man plant a
tree which may bo a comfort in after
years. Let every man of middle life
plant a tree which may giow into a
monument of his foresight , when his
other work shall huvo beou forgotten.
Lot all our people give up thu day to
tree planting. Plant shade trees. Plant
ornamental trees. Plant fruit trees.
Beautify the plains with trees. Lay
aside the cares of ovory-day business
and engage in a work which shall ren
der our already beautiful state more
beaxitiful and more desirable.
By the authority vested in mo as gov
ernor of Nebraska , I hereby proclaim
and designate
Saturday , April 512 , Arbor Day.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF , I
[ SEAL ] . have hereunto subscribed
my name and caused to
bo aflixed the Great Seal of the State of
Nebraska.
DONE at Lincoln , the capital of the
state , this 22d day of March , in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and ninety-nine , of the state the thirty-
third , and of the United States the one
hundred and twenty-third.
W. A. POYNTEU.
BY THE GOVERNOR :
W. F. PORTER ,
Secretary of State.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION ,
LINCOLN , Neb. , March 1,189 ! ) .
To the teachers and pupils of the public
schools of Nebraska :
The recurrence of Arbor Day gives
mo another opportunity of addressing
you , and I assure you it gives mo pleas
ure to bring to your attention the les
sons that the observance of this day
affords.
It is my wish that you study not only
the poetical side , or the sentimental
aspect of trees and flowers and birds ,
but the practical features connected
with these subjects as well. We must
get beyond the idea that these things
were created solely for our pleasure ,
and be brought to realize that they
play a very important part in the econ
omy of nature.
Your observations should not bo con
fined to Arbor Day , but let every day
add to your stock of information con
cerning trees and birds. They are al
ways with you , and their constant
changes continually suggest new
thoughts for your edification and com
fort.
Very sincerely ,
W. R. JACKSON.
History of Arbor Day.
At an annual meeting of the State
Board of Agriculture at Lincoln , Ne
braska , Jaimary 4 , 1872 , J. Sterling Mor
ton introduced the following resolution ,
which was unanimously adopted :
"Jtcsolved , That Wednesday , the 10th
day of April , 1872 , be and the same is
hereby especially sot apart and consecrated
crated for tree planting in the state of
Nebraska , and the State Board of Agri
culture hereby name it Arbor Day , and
urge upon the people of the state the
vital importance of tree planting , and
hereby offer a special premium of $100 ,
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 $25 worth
of books to that person who , on that
day , shall plant properly , in Nebraska ,
the greatest number of trees. "
Over a million of trees were planted
in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day ,
April 10 , 1872.
In 1875 the governor of Nebraska , by
public proclamation , set apart the third
Wednesday of April as a day to be ob
served in the planting of trees. Annu
ally thereafter other governors made
such proclamation until the winter of
1885 , when the legislature passed the act
which designates the 22d of April , birth
day of Mr. Morton , of each year as Ar
bor Day , and making it one of the legal
holidays of the state.
Then in 1805 the name and the fame
of Nebraska was further recognized and
fixed by the following joint resolution
which was approved by the governor ,
April 4 , 1895 :
"WHEREAS , The state of Nebraska
has heretofore , in a popular sense , boon
designated by names not in harmony
with its history , industry , or ambition ;
and
"WHEREAS , The state is pre-eminently
a tree-planting state ; and
"WHEREAS , Numerous and honorable
state organizations have , by resolution ,
designated Nebraska as the 'Tree Plant
er's State ; ' therefore be it
"Jlesolvcd , By the legislature of the
state of Nebraska , that Nebraska shall
hereafter , in a popular sense , bo known
and referred to as the 'Tree Planter's
State. ' "
At the same session , and as an out
growth of the same sentiment , the fol
lowing joint resolution was also adopted :
"WHEREAS , The adoption of a state
floral emblem , by the authority of the
legislature , would foster a feeling of
pride in our state and stimulate an in
terest in the history and traditions of
the commonwealth ; therefore be it
"Itesolced , That , the senate concur
ring , we , the legislature of Nebraska ,
hereby declare the flower commonly
known as the 'Golden Rod' ( solldago
serutina ) to bo the floral emblem of the
state. "
Approved April 4 , A. D. 1895.
ASSISTANT SUCKKTAUY OF AGltl-
CULTUJU- ; .
"The Cuban Land and Trading Com
pany" advertises , in The National Rural
of February 2 , great inducements in the
way of small farms of rich soil in Cuba ,
and rejoices in stating that J. H. Brigham -
ham , assistant secretary of agriculture ,
and past master of the National Grange
"is an active officer" of the corporation.
Comment can bo made by the organs of
the Grange , and others when they have
time to contemplate the cross , or hybrid-
ization.of a department official on a cor
poration job. er. .