Vol. XVII, pp. 173-180 December 27, 1904 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THK 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



PLANT AE ANDRE WSEAE. 

 BY AVEN NELSON. 



/-, '^''\S^ 



It is n souvct' of 110 little pleasure to find the number of those 

 who are interested in the " wild flowers " constantly increasing. 

 It is an added pleasure wlien the interest sliown is directed to 

 their preservation and pi'opagation, as well as to their collec- 

 tion and study. In Mr. D. M. Andrews, of Boulder, Colorado, 

 Rocky Mountain l»otany lias found an appreciative student who 

 approaches the sul)j('ct fr(»ni the practical as well as tlie theo- 

 retical point of view. It is true that Mr. Andrews' work has 

 a commercial side to it since he is engaged (and most success- 

 fully) in the introduction of native Colorado plants. But that 

 is merely estal)lishing here a condition for the study of our flora 

 that was practiced elsewhere under less favorable conditions in 

 the pioneer days of western exploration. To understand this 

 we need only recall how many of our liest known species were 

 described from plants grown in the English gardens from seeds 

 secured by tlie earliest collectors. For purposes of study Mr. 

 Andrews' plants are l)etter since, 1 icing grown in practically 

 their usual environment, they represent approximately normal 

 development. 



I would call atti'ution to the fact that the course Mr. Andrews 

 is pursuing incidentall}^ furnishes the very best evidence of the val- 

 idity of species. It were well in this day of multiplied species, if 

 we might have many such tests as the folloAving examples illus- 



35— Pkoc. Bioi,. Soc. Wash. Vol. XVII, 1901. (173) 



