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flowers. These have large underground storehouses in their root- 
stocks, and without the roots, the plant is unable to perform its 
proper functions. Late blooming plants suffer less, for their 
vegetative work is nearly completed when they become attractive 
and subject to injury. If, however, they are torn up with their 
roots, the promise of the next year’s growth is destroyed. 
Shrubs and woody perennials, such as the dogwood, are harmed 
when branches containing buds are broken off, since many young 
branches are thereby prevented from growing. 
It is therefore evident that one of the causes of the disappear- 
ance of flowers is picking. The trouble arises from the ignorance 
as to the extent of the damage done. When a number of children 
who live in crowded districts, leave them to spend a happy day 
in the fields, their first thought is to gather flowers which they 
do untiringly, never stopping till they have a plentiful bouquet. 
But by the time they get home, the flowers are all wilted, and 
the children get no satisfaction from them. Chaperons of a 
party of children should impress upon their charges the necessity 
of enjoying the beauty of the flower in its haunt, and of leaving 
them where they are. The children may be allowed to pick one 
or two flowers carefully without unearthing the roots. 
There is also a lack of consideration on the part of older people. 
Many completely ignore the rights of other people to enjoy public 
property, and, when on private grounds, they forget that the 
owner may have taken great care to plant them; papers, boxes 
and broken glass are often left on the grass, which, apart from 
spoiling the effects of nature’s beauty, may hinder the growth of 
many flowers by shutting out the necessary sunlight. Sometimes 
matches are carelessly dropped, which produce fires, harmful, in 
their way, in burning to the ground a great number of plants. 
All this, with just a little care on the part of the visitors to our 
parks, may be easily avoided. 
We have seen how it is that so many of our native plants are 
disappearing. Many people will acknowledge the fact that they 
are decreasing very rapidly in number, but it matters little to 
them. They seem to think that if our wild flowers are gone, 
cultivated ones can take their place, and they see no reason why . 
