VANISHING WILD FLOWERS 



IjY ElIZAKEIm' G. 15RITTON 



A number of articles on this topic have been pubhshed this 

 year. They have awakened the interest of many readers, caused 

 much comment and discussion, and prompted investigation as to 

 the reasons for this calamity, which, if it does actually come to 

 pass, is as much to be deplored as the extermination of the buf- 

 falo, the seal or the beaver. As in the case of mammals and 

 birds, ereed and thoughtlessness combine to do the harm, and 

 fashion and selfishness are the motives. 



The Neiv York Tribune of May 5th had the following article : 

 " Now that spring is really here, the picnicking parties are in- 

 vading the woods north of the Harlem, and have begun the an- 

 nual systematic destruction of a large proportion of all wild 

 flowers within reach. The authorities of the Botanical Gardens 

 are on the lookout for them, and within their own precincts will 

 guard the blossoms as thoroughly as possible under a well 

 planned system ; but the rest of the Bronx will be at their 

 mercy, and that means death to many a poor little plant. It is 

 not that these ruthless explorers fail to appreciate the beauty of 

 flowers — they "just love them," in all probability. The trouble 

 arises from their ignorance of the extent of the damage they do, 

 and from an utter inability to comprehend that a flower or any- 

 thing in the vegetable world has rights which the lord of crea- 

 tion himself is bound to respect. Thanks to the picnickers and 

 alleged botanists, the arbutus, loveliest of spring blossoms, has 

 been almost exterminated in the Bronx region. Its delicate pink 

 and white used once upon a time to hide under the leaves all 

 through the northern woods in that part of the suburbs ; now it 

 may be found only in spots where it commands less enthusiastic 

 admiration. The mountain laurel has shared a similar fate." 



