162 THE PLANT WORLD 



" If I do not pick them some one else will," says one. This is quite 

 possible ; but by refraining yourself and teaching others to do the same 

 you at least give the plant a chance to escape destruction and to mature 

 seed. If it does not it is no fault of yours. It is this destructive spirit 

 in " friendly enemies" which must be weeded out. Surely those who 

 already know better should take the lead by trying to teach their friends 

 the superior beauty of plants in their wild nooks, where they have those 

 suitable surroundings, which they have through many plant generations 

 become best adapted to. 



Those who make a point of observing plants where they grow also 

 soon acquire that keenness of vision which enables them to see far more 

 than they ever otherwise could. 



Certainly many of our rare beauties are a sorry sight in the vases and 

 jardinieres of our homes. They are about as natural as a gentle fawn in 

 a box menagerie — never at home, always unhappy. Most flowers which 

 are in danger of extermination are also unsuitable for house decoration, 

 because they are so delicate that they fade quickly ; while butter-cups, 

 daisies, black-eyed Susans, blue flag, clovers, meadow rue, queen Ann's 

 lace, asters, goldenrods, and many grasses are by no means all that 

 remain for the beautifying of our homes. 



Measures should be taken for the preservation of the trees and shrubs 

 along our roadsides. The use of growing trees as supports for fences, 

 whether of boards or of wire, is injurious to them and should not be 

 permitted. In the State of Connecticut it is forbidden any one to cut the 

 branches of or otherwise injure any tree for the sake of passing electric 

 wires along the streets. This State offers to pay one dollar for every tree 

 planted along its public highways. Planting of native trees should be 

 encouraged, for there are no trees so well suited to our climate as those 

 which grow naturally in our region, and surely none more beautiful as 

 street trees. The elm-arched streets of our New England villages are 

 proverbially beautiful. 



Every effort, public or private, to awaken the interest of the public for 

 the protection of our native plants and to teach people the true beauty 

 and nature of them is worthy of the encouragement and support of all 

 who, in the best sense of the word, love flowers. 



New York Botanical Garden. 



A REPRESENTATIVE of the German Government has been sent to 

 Canada to ascertain what trees can be profitably transplanted into 

 Germany. He has already decided that white pine, cherry, spruce, and 

 black walnut would flourish on German soil, and experiments are to be 

 made with those trees. — The American Liventor. 



