2o6 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



The agricultural problem today 

 means to every American, and indeed 

 to every civilized person on earth, 

 simply whether he shall, when this 

 strife ends, be a free person in a free 

 land or whether he shall be bossed from 

 Berlin. 



That is the precise interest that you, 

 now reading these lines, have in the 

 agricultural problem in America today. 

 You may have been a farmer all your 

 life or you may not know the difference 

 between a straight furrow and a thresh- 

 ing machine — no matter what your con- 

 dition may be, one of the two divisions 

 of the agricultural problem is yours ; to 

 produce food or to conserve food. 



Many people have thought of the 

 war as "far away," as a remote, imper- 

 sonal thing, a sort of dreadful night- 

 mare, but not as a spectre menacing our 

 immediate persons and property. Our 

 appreciation of the actuality is more 

 poignant now, with our own flesh and 

 blood upon the firing line. That firing 

 line is in France today. It will come to 

 America if the farmer fails. 



No matter what course military strat- 

 egy may take, the final battle-field of 

 the war is already fixed. The Water- 

 loo of the Prussian autocrat and all he 

 stands for, or the Waterloo of Ameri- 

 can liberty — the end of autocracv or the 

 end of democracy — the end of Prus- 

 sianism or the end of freedom — will be 

 wrought' on the battlefield of the Amer- 

 ican farm — every American farm. 



Another Battlefield. 



But even victory there will not avail 

 if we lose in another equally fateful 

 battlefield — the American kitchen. If 

 we produce to the limit of farm resour- 

 ces and energies and do not conserve 

 what we produce we may lose by waste. 



No conceivable responsibility could 

 be more grave, no privilege more proud, 

 no opportunity more rich for signifi- 

 cant service than the American farmer 

 has today. The war has sounded a call 

 to duty to every individual throughout 

 civilization. The course of the individ- 

 ual life is not now to be considered in 

 terms of self. The question dominating 

 every individual is for what service can 

 he be used — what can he best do to 

 "help win the war. To some the call 

 comes to march away with uniform and 

 gun, to some it comes for the organiza- 



tion and administration of parts of the 

 great war machine — to the American 

 farmer comes the call to feed the forces 

 fighting for liberty. To every other 

 man, woman and child comes the call 

 to save. 



Spare the Laurel. 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE SOCIETY 

 FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIVE PLANTS, 

 NEWBURY STREET, BOSTON, MASSACHU- 

 SETTS. 



The mountain laurel is one of our 

 most beautiful native shrubs, not only 

 when covered with its wonderful mass- 

 es of pink and white flowers in early 

 summer but during the rest of the year 



on account of its rich foliage. As it is 

 an evergreen it is a striking feature in 

 the winter landscape. 



Laurel is typical of our woods and 

 pastures; to protect it from destruction 

 should be our duty and pleasure. But 

 its very beauty and charm induce cut- 

 ting 10 an alarming extent. It is gath- 

 ered extensively twice a year- In sum- 

 mer the flowers are taken for the deco- 

 ration of church and home. In winter 

 the inroads are even more exten ive 

 and dangerous. Enormous quantities 

 are then used for festoons, for wreaths, 

 in the Christmas dressing of churches 

 and the decoration of ballrooms. As 

 it is then cold weather, the foliage keeps 

 well and bears transportation to a dis- 

 tance, so that the quantity collected is 

 only limited by the demand and the 

 available material. It is to be noted 

 that this cutting is all from wild 

 growth, not from plants grown for this 

 purpose, although the laurel is easily 

 cultivated. 



The flowers are borne only upon the 

 shoots of the previous year's growth. 

 I f these pre cut, a year's flowering is 

 lost. When looking at long festoons 

 o r " laurel leaves, it is saddening to think 

 of the great quantity of bloom that has 

 been destroved in this extravagant win- 

 ter decoration. 



Care for the future often involves 

 sacrifice in the present. Therefore can 

 we not forego some decoration for the 

 sake of preserving for the enjoyment of 

 future generations the beauty of our 

 woods, swamps and pastures where the 

 laurel now grows? 



