Far from condoning wholesale picking, every care is taken to preserve 

 our treasures, and to discourage the picking and especially the digging 

 up of uncommon plants. The only times when this has been done is 

 when the plants in question are about to be obliterated by bulldozers 

 or by the area being built over ; in these cases some plants have been 

 transferred to gardens or on to private land where they have a chance of 

 survival and increase ; the Motherwort was one of these. 



At the same time we do not think that a hush-hush policy serves a 

 useful purpose. Much damage can be done in ignorance, and when 

 people are unfamiliar with the appearance of rare plants they may quite 

 likely pick them because they are unaware of their rarity. Moreover, 

 with so much more transport on remote country roads, it is by no means 

 as easy as it was 30 years ago to keep secret the whereabouts of uncommon 

 plants — especially when they choose to grow on the bus route. It 

 has seemed to us that the best plan is to educate the public, and already 

 we have had a good response, both among our members, and from 

 farmers and landowners, whom we have found genuinely interested in 

 the preservation of uncommon plants on their property. One farmer 

 keeps a fierce dog on that part of the farm where a scarce orchid grows ! 



We have to chance the depredations of unscrupulous collectors, 

 against whom there seems to be no remedy ; and far more dangerous 

 than anything else is the threat of selective weedkillers ; protests against 

 their indiscriminate use have been made and we hope will receive 

 attention. 



M. Walton, f.r.h.s., f.z.s. 

 V. F. P. Day, n.d.h., f.r.h.s. 



BOTANICAL SECTION 



'X'HE Botanical Section is endeavouring to compile a list of local country 

 -*■ names for familiar wild flowers and the Secretary would be pleased 

 to receive any information of this nature for future publication. 



The winter meetings, which are of an informal character, were well 

 supported. These meetings are open to all members of the Society 

 and we shall be very pleased if anyone engaged in observations of a 

 particular subject will tell us about it. Sometimes a subject is more 

 satisfactorily dealt with in an informal discussion or short talk to a small 

 audience than as a full scale lecture to the whole Society. The sub- 

 sections are intended for just such a purpose and it is hoped that more 

 members will give us the benefit of their experience. 



The botanical walks were very enjoyable and the earlier ones were 

 well attended ; on two occasions relief buses were put on for our benefit. 



