THE PLANT WOKLD 185 



dollar a year. The secretary is diaries L. Pollard, National Museum, 

 Washington D. C. Those who are actively interested in protecting the 

 wild flowers will probably find one or the other of these societies to 

 meet their requirements." 



In this short paragraph there are several distinct misleading impli- 

 cations. First let us consider the implied suggestion that while the 

 New England Society is engaged in active work, our own organization 

 is idle. The former body has now been in existence nearly two years, 

 and during that time has naturally had ample facility for the publica- 

 tion of almost any number of " leaflets." The Wild Flower Preserva- 

 tion Society was formallj^ organized at the end of last April, but was 

 not publicly launched until May 22. The summer season naturally 

 hampered the oflicers in the collection of dues and the raising of funds. 

 Yet in the four months of its existence the secretary and treasurer have 

 between them distributed the prize essays of Dr. Knowlton and Mr. 

 Grout, together with the society's circular, to nearly 2000 persons, while 

 through the medium of The Plant World, our official organ, there 

 have been published three additional essays, directions for forming local 

 chapters, the by-laws of the society, and other matter. It is just here 

 that The American Botanist is peculiarly maladroit, for in remarking, 

 " Membership in this society costs a dollar a year," it deliberately 

 ignores the fact that our members receive The Plant World, the sub- 

 scription price of which is one dollar, without charge, in addition to 

 whatever extraneous publications may be issued, and this amount of 

 instructive reading matter certainly does not compare unfavorably with 

 the six leaflets and poster already published by the New England Soci- 

 ety. Moreover it is misleading to state that membership in the latter 

 " costs nothing." While it is true that anyone may enroll and receive 

 the publications without charge, the society derives its income, and 

 therefore its existence, from the sustaining members, who pay one 

 dollar a year ; and it naturally expects every lover of the wild flowers 

 to contribute his mite toward their preservation ; thus for all practical 

 purposes, the dues are one dollar in each societj'. 



It is not true that we are " approaching the subject by means of 

 illustrated lectures held mostly in our larger cities." The Society was 

 most appropriately launched by means of a public lecture at the capital, 

 and the secretary expects to deliver one or two lectures during the com- 

 ing season in connection with the organization of local chapters. This, 

 however, is but an incidental means of arousing public sentiment. As 

 for our being an "imitator" of any other society, such a suggestion 

 comes with poor grace from a journal so given to imitation as The 

 American Botanist. 



Not content with the publication of the editorial we have quoted, 



