142 THE PLANT WORLD 



Editorial. 



In a recent issue our contemporary, The American Botanist, calls 

 attention to an important matter tint may very well be taken up by the 

 plant-protection societies, namely, the securing of legislation that will 

 protect certain conspicuous plants, such as arbutus, azalea, columbine, 

 trillium, lupine, various ferns, etc., unless the consent of the owner of the 

 land is secured. As Dr. Knowlton shows in his Phelps-Stokes prize 

 essay, the idea that the plants of woods and fields are common property — 

 to be plucked at will — is of very ancient origin and has accumulated 

 through many centuries of license. The laws against trespass are doubt- 

 less sufficient to protect these plants if the owners of property were suffi- 

 ciently interested to enforce their rights ; but too often they are negligent 

 in this respect, and the devastation goes merrily on. We would like to 

 urge upon those interested in plant protection the necessity of interesting 

 property-owners in establishing their rights in this matter, and to this 

 end the various State legislatures might be induced to pass laws making 

 it necessary to secure the consent of owners before flowers and plants 

 may be gathered. It is true, too, as our contemporary says, that only 

 those plants in great need of protection should be included in such bills, 

 as otherwise they would probably be defeated. As a step in this direc- 

 tion it may be stated that the legislature of New York is to be memorial- 

 ized by the Syracuse Chapter of the Wild Flower Preservation Society to 

 establish a public park for the protection of the local hart's-tongue fern. 

 When these matters are more thoroughly understood it will probably not 

 be difficult to secure such legislation, but the effort must not be sporadic. 

 As an example of what may be accomplished along similar lines we may 

 mention the agreement recently entered into between the members of 

 the Millinery Merchants' Protective Association of New York and the 

 Audubon Society of the State of New York, whereby the former agrees 

 to "abstain from the importation, manufacture, purchase, or sale of 

 gulls, terns, grebes, humming-birds, and song birds " for three years, and 

 the latter to ' * prevent all illegal interference on the part of game wardens 

 with the millinery trade ; to refrain from aiding the passage of any leg- 

 islation that has for its object restrictions against the importation, manu- 

 facture or sale of fancy feathers obtained from domesticated fowls, etc." 

 This was a hard battle, and we congratulate our kindred organization, 

 the Audubon Society, on its signal victory. When our plant-protection 

 organizations are as old as the Audubon societies we hope we may point 

 to a similar line of successes in staying the destruction of our plants. In 

 the meantime let us hope that every one will carry on active missionary 

 work among his neighbors and friends. 



