TORREYA 



April, 1918 

 Vol. 18 No. 4 



PRESERVING OUR WILD FLOWERS 



By Albert A. Hansen 



Early in the fall of 1916, the Pennsylvania state chapter of 

 The Wild Flower Preservation Society of America was organized 

 with a charter membership of twenty. Following the precedent 

 established by other chapters of the national organization, a 

 single officer only was elected, the secretary, who likewise acted 

 as the executive head of the local chapter. 



It is felt that a resume of the work accomplished during the 

 first year of its existence will be of interest and perhaps act as the 

 inspiration for the establishment of similar local organizations. 

 The chapter was organized under the auspices of the botanical 

 department of the Pennsylvania State College. Because of its 

 location in a college community, the opportunities presented for 

 useful work were numerous. A prevalent custom among the 

 students was to decorate the fraternity houses during house 

 parties, receptions, etc., with mountain laurel, rhododendron and 

 other evergreen foliage. Since their social events were suffi- 

 ciently numerous to prove a serious drain upon the wild flora, a 

 request was sent to each of the fraternity houses, asking that 

 this custom be discontinued. The request was met in a cordial 

 manner with the result that the practice was cut down to the 

 minimum and a large number of such slow-growing evergreens 

 as the mountain laurel and rhododendron were saved for the 

 enjoyment of the students of the future. In addition many 

 citizens of the town, who had previously never given the subject 

 serious thought, refrained from utilizing the desirable wild \ege- 

 tation for decorative purposes, substituting in its place when 



[Xo. 3, \'ol. 18 of ToRREYA, Comprising pp. 41-64 was issued 10 April, 1918.] 



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