OUR STATE FLOWERS 



485 



was bound to favor anything three thou- 

 sand women could agree on. In the 

 House the choice was advocatel in en- 

 thusiastic terms. Upon each desk sprigs 

 of mountain laurel were distributed by 

 persons in favor of the bill. After a 

 short discussion it passed. When the 

 measure was pending in the Senate the 

 botanical name of the laurel was inserted 

 by a senator, who complained that the 

 request was out of order when some one 

 asked him to spell it. 



North Dakota adopted the wild prairie 

 rose by legislative action in 1907, the 

 same year that Florida's legislature se- 

 lected the orange blossom. By act of the 

 General Assembly the violet has been the 

 State flower of Illinois since the 1st of 

 July, 1908. 



Utah officially recognized the sego lily 

 as its choice by act of its legislature in 

 191 1. Indiana selected the carnation by 

 legislative act in 1903, but did not specify 

 the color of the carnation, which in our 

 illustration was left to the artist. 



THE STATE FLOWER MOVEMENT WAS 

 STARTED BY NEW YORK 



The State flower movement in the 

 United States was started by New York, 

 although its legislature has never yet offi- 

 cially sanctioned a flower. In 1890 a 

 school vote was taken in the entire State, 

 with the result that the goldenrod was 

 adopted by a vote of 81,308 as against 

 79,666 for other candidates. A year later 

 the case was reopened, and this time 

 the rose led, receiving 294,816 votes as 

 against 206,402 for all the other entries. 

 From that time the rose has been consid- 

 ered New York's official flower, though 

 the vote did not specify any particular 

 rose. 



Rhode Island also chose its official em- 

 blem by the vote of the school children. 

 In May, 1897, there was a plebiscite of 

 the children, with the result that the 

 violet was overwhelmingly favored and 

 was declared the representative flower of 

 the State. 



The school children in Mississippi 

 made the choice for that State. In 1900 

 the matter was submitted to a refer- 



endum, with the result that the magnolia 

 was their nearly unanimous favorite. 



The violet is also the unhesitating 

 choice of the school children of Wiscon- 

 sin. In 1909 the matter was submitted 

 to a vote, with the result that the violet 

 got 67,178 preferences, the rose 31,024, 

 the arbutus 27,068, and the white water 

 lily 22,648. 



Maine's adherence to the pine cone 

 and tassel was given by the vote of the 

 public schools of the State, the same be- 

 ing true of New Mexico's support of the 

 cactus. 



According to reports furnished the 

 National Geographic Society by the Sec- 

 retaries of State and other officials of the 

 several States, Idaho favors the syringa 

 by common consent ; the wild rose was 

 chosen by common consent in Iowa ; the 

 Kentucky Historical Society and citizens 

 of Kentucky prefer the trumpet vine, and 

 the sagebrush is generally accepted in 

 Nevada. The people of North Carolina 

 favor the daisy generally, while through 

 the work of the women's clubs the State 

 of Washington held a contest which re- 

 sulted in the choice of the rhododendron 

 as that Commonwealth's flower (see 

 pages 500 and 517). 



TEN STATES HAVE SELECTED NO STATE 

 FLOWER 



In the case of Alabama it is reported 

 that no action has ever been taken toward 

 the adoption of a State flower, though 

 several authorities put down the golden- 

 rod as its emblematic blossom. 



The people of Maryland are said to 

 favor the black-eyed susan, with the sun- 

 flower second ; but no formal decision 

 has yet been made. 



In Massachusetts, although the may- 

 flower, because of its good cheer to the 

 Pilgrims, has met with great favor, no 

 formal selection has been made. Mis- 

 souri officials say that no State flower has 

 ever been adopted, yet several authorities 

 publicly declare that the goldenrod has 

 been accepted by a school vote. 



New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South 

 Carolina, and Virginia are without State 

 flowers, either officially or unofficially. 

 Popular opinion seems never to have 



