THE PLANT WORLD 65 



most of this comes from thoughtlessness which can be in large measure 

 corrected by judicious instruction. As a first step toward securing this 

 correction the aid of teachers of nature classes should be secured. 

 Leaflets setting forth the objects of this movement should be widely and 

 systematically distributed among teachers, and if practicable a reading 

 book adapted to the lower grades of public schools should be prepared, 

 in whicli interesting accounts of plants and plant-life should be woven 

 with appeals for plant protection. 



The establishment of school gardens should be heartily encouraged, 

 for the abundant success attained by these gardens, both abroad and in 

 this country, shows beyond question that children are easily interested 

 in watching the processes of plant growth, and when once their interest 

 is aroused haK the battle for plant protection is won, at least so far as 

 they are concerned. 



We may now turn our attention to ways and means calculated to 

 produce immediate results. " Immediate " is the only word that can be 

 used here, for in certain localities, such as the proximity to large centers 

 of population, watering places, summer resorts, etc., many plants are 

 approaching dangerously near the point of being destroyed absolutely. 



As a first step toward this end, it seems to me that the public should 

 be informed, once and for all, that none of these plants that it is desira- 

 ble to protect has any definite intrinsic value. They should be made 

 to understand that the plants are simply a part of the definite setting of 

 nature that it is important for esthetic or scientific reasons to maintain. 

 The cupidity of the average human being is so great, that, if it were 

 simply mmored that these plants could command a money price, their 

 doom would be fixed. 



Whenever it is possible, signs should be erected containing warn- 

 ings against the plucking of flowers or fruits or bright-colored leaves 

 from shiaibs and trees. Most residents of cities are already familiar 

 with rules against mutilating plants in parks and along public streets, 

 and similar warnings, if posted conspicuously in the more rural loca- 

 tions, will undoubtedly have a salutary effect. There should be no dis- 

 position to exclude the public from the enjoyment of the beauties of 

 nature, so long as the rights of others are recognized. I have in mind a 

 very large landed estate, which the public is in\dted to enjoy, the only 

 condition being that the plants and animals must not be disturbed. 



Whenever certain species of plants are becoming rare on account of 

 devastations by man, signs should be posted along conspicuous routes 

 requesting moderation in gathering, or even abstinence, on the i^art of 

 the public. These should not be worded so as to direct the public to 

 the exact spots where the plants may be found, but rather of a general 

 nature, calculated simply to call attention to the fact of their rarity. 



