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exhibit a marked ability to propagate themselves vegetatively 

 or to spread and establish themselves by means of seeds. As the 

 outstanding illustration of plants which spread prolifically, it 

 may well be asked to what extent weeds can be utilized for deco- 

 rative purposes. In answer to this question, I will only suggest 

 that while, as a group, these economically undesirable plants, 

 mostly immigrants from other sections of the world, may seem 

 to present little in the way of attractiveness, nevertheless there 

 are a remarkably large number of exceptions; such, for instance, 

 as the common white daisy and the black-eyed Susan, the musk- 

 mallow and the wild carrot, the butter and eggs and the 

 bouncing-bet. Between those flowers which can be picked in 

 practically unlimited quantities, without fear of extermination, 

 and flowers that should not be picked at all, there are, of course, 

 all degrees of intergradation. In the list of plants which should 

 not be picked at all belong all forms which, for any reason what- 

 soever, are notably rare; and in this connection it may well be 

 pointed out that there are some plants which may reasonably be 

 picked in one section of the country, or in one locality, but not in 

 another; as the twin-flower in the northwoods where it reproduces 

 vigorously, but not in southern New England, near the south- 

 ward limit of its range, where it is on the verge of extinction. 

 Mountain laurel in Connecticut is in no danger of actual exter- 

 mination: in localities where it is abundant and which are not 

 too accessible, no stigma can be attached to picking its blossoms, 

 in moderation. But the situation is very different where the 

 laurel grows along highways or in the vicinity of towns. Here it 

 should not be picked at all. The blossoms of the flowering dog- 

 wood should never be taken: the mutilated trees are an eyesore 

 and the flowers quickly wilt after being picked. 



In the case of evergreen plants, the practise of using the foliage 

 for decorative purposes during the Christmas season would seem 

 to constitute an even greater menace to continued existence in 

 the wild than the custom of picking during the blossoming season, 

 especially where these plants are subject to commercial ex- 

 ploitation. Some enthusiasts would go so far as to completely 

 taboo the use of wild evergreens In this way. They would even 

 prohibit the use of the balsam fir for Christmas trees because, they 

 assert, this practice constitutes a source of danger to our future 

 lumber supplies. The absurdity of this latter contention is fully 



