56 PACIFIC STATES FLORAL CONGRESS. 



meet with an untimely fate. The indifferent plowman allows his horses 

 to trample them beneath their feet as he ruthlessly plows them under to 

 enrich the soil for his field of wheat. One is fain to cry out, "Spare 

 the flowers, and we will do with less bread !" 



Of Gilias we have an extensive assortment, their showy blossoms 

 adding beauty wherever nature has placed them. The Collinsia is repre- 

 sented on our coast by a large number of species, being widely diffused 

 throughout the Pacific states. Collinsia bicolor is the most beautiful. 

 Its habits of building upward and still upward its whorls of sprightly 

 blossoms calls to mind a line of Holmes' "Chambered Nautilus,"- 

 "Build thee more stately mansions, my soul !" It seeks shady local- 

 ities, where it is found in friendly groups, waving its lavender blossoms 

 amid the grasses. One may gather large quantities and carry them 

 home with the full assurance that they will keep fresh and bright for 

 many days if properly cared for. 



An erroneous idea is prevalent that wild flowers are so frail that 

 they are not worth the picking. This mistake has occurred from 

 carelessness and lack of studying the habits of the flowers. In the first 

 place great care should be taken when gathering them not to break 

 or bruise the slender stems. They should be laid straight in a basket, 

 or upon a paper and wrapped so when wilted they will not droop ami 

 swing about. In this way they may be carried a long distance, and 

 may be easily revived by sprinkling with fresh water and putting them 

 out in the dew overnight. Some are more fragile than others, but 

 many varieties may be kept for days or even weeks by giving them 

 plenty of water and fresh air. 



Another of our annuals whose bright flowers please the eye, and 

 which may be named as especially charming, is Clarkia elegans. In 

 June, after many of its sister flowers have fulfilled their little mission,, 

 and providently stored their seeds in the dry soil to come forth and 

 bless another season, this gracious flower comes to us displaying her 

 rose-colored banners from rocky banks to cheer the tired traveler along 

 the hot roadway. Many times a dainty dress is torn and a dainty glove 

 soiled in reaching to pluck these tempting flowers from their rugged 

 home, where they are surrounded by grasses and shrubs laden with the 

 summer's dust. 



The Figwort family is represented on our coast by the genus Ortho- 

 carpus, of which we have about twoscore varieties. Most of these 

 flowers are white, and they grow in such profusion that a field of them 



:s as if covered with snow. They possess good keeping qualities, and 

 emit a dainty fragrance. 



One of the most pleasing and satisfactory of our annuals is the 

 Layw, known as "tidy tips," owing to the pure white tips of its clear 



