Julius Sterling Morton

“The forests of the earth are the flags of nature.”

“Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.”

“Each generation takes the earth as trustees.”

“Love of home is primary patriotism.”

“The schoolhouse is the republican line of fortifications.”

“If I had the power, I would compel every man in the State who had a home of his own to plant out and cultivate fruit trees.”

“There is a serene and settled majesty in woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.”

“What is a home without trees? It is a house in a desert.”

“A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as helpless.”

“Enthusiasm is the parent of enterprise.”

“We should not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man.”

“The great plain has been called the 'great American desert.' It is a misnomer.”

“The cultivation of trees is the cultivation of the good, the beautiful, and the ennobling in man, and for one, I wish to see it become universal.”

“Honest men are the gentlemen of nature.”