June, 1906 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 399 
The Preservation of Wild Flowers in the 
United States 
By Mary L. Riley 
RG N APRIL, 1902, in 
® the city of New 
York, a national 
organization was 
perfected for the 
preservation of our 
wild flowers, which was the direct 
outcome of an essay by Dr. F. H. 
Knowlton on “Suggestions for the 
Preservation of our Native Plants.” 
This essay was awarded the first 
prize in a competition held by the 
New York Botanical Garden, Caro- 
line and Olivia Phelps-Stokes giving 
the fund for the encouragement of 
this work. Mr. Knowlton suggested 
that this movement take the direction 
of an enlightened public sentiment, 
and in some cases immediate meas- 
ures be formulated for the preserva- 
tion of the flowers that are most 
attractive and for that reason most 
in danger of extermination. 
The organization in Massachu- 
setts has done much effective work. 
It sends out leaflets from time to Cardinal Flower 
time treating on the subject in gen- 
: 
peculiar to the Mississippi Valley. 
As a charming bit of scenery it was 
most successful, and as an educa- 
tional factor in creating a public 
sentiment for the protection of our 
wild flowers this effort will be most 
far-reaching. 
Men, women and children all love 
flowers and by appealing to this love 
the most potent results are no doubt 
to be accomplished. To know the 
surroundings that Nature gives them 
is the only way to develop a lasting 
appreciation of their charm and the 
necessity for protection. The plants 
that are in most danger of extermi- 
nation are the mayflower, mountain 
laurel, sabbatia, cardinal flower and 
the trailing ferns. 
Perhaps no flower is more sought 
for than the arbutus. It has been 
gathered in quantities to sell on the 
streets of our cities. Parties go each 
spring to the hiding place of this shy 
flower, and in their eager greediness 
take handfuls and sometimes the 
entire plant. The genuine lover of 
eral, and on the extermination of certain plants—for ex- wild flowers would take only a few flowers, a few leaves, to- 
ample, ‘A Plea for the Wild Flowers,’ ‘Protect the gether with what means much more, a lasting memory of the 
Laurel,” “To Children,’ ‘“To Nature Study Teachers,” sweet earthy fragrance of pink and white blossoms, that are 
covering as will be seen a wide field of instruction and appeal. always found deep under the snow and dead leaves, with the 
This society has also prepared a poster to be placed in public heavy shade of pine trees above. 
buildings, hoping in that way to call attention to the im- The mountain laurel, one of our most attractive ever- 
portance of its work and to gain 
the active interest of the community. 
Much good has been done through 
the medium of the press. The grow- 
ing of wild flowers in public parks 
has opened another avenue to culti- 
vate this protective spirit. 
Connecticut has resorted to state 
laws directed especially toward the 
destruction of the creeping ferns and 
trailing arbutus. 
In many parts of Great Britain 
and the Continent societies have 
been organized to protect the wild 
flowers which are in danger of ex- 
tinction. The success of united action 
in Switzerland has been very notable. 
At the Louisiana Purchase Exposi- 
tion, on the western slope of Agri- 
cultural Hall, there was planted a 
very extensive and remarkable collec- 
tion of wild flowers; no such collec- 
tion had ever before been grown to- 
gether. The native habitat of the 
plants was reproduced as far as 
possible and represented in this group 
were most of the wild flowers Pink Lady’s-Slipper 
green shrubs, is a conspicuous feature 
in New England woods and most 
beautiful when covered with clusters 
of pink and white blossoms. The 
foliage is very desirable as a winter 
decoration and for that reason much 
sought for, and unless some _ pro- 
tection is offered will be entirely de- 
stroyed. The flowering is upon the 
shoots of the previous year and if 
these are taken away the blossoms 
are lost for the next year. Sabbatia, 
one of our rarely beautiful plants, 
is gathered by street vendors in a 
most lavish way, just as are the 
fringed and closed gentians, and then 
sold on almost every street corner in 
our big cities. The Wild Flower 
Association asks the passer-by to re 
frain from purchasing these flowers, 
in that way withdrawing encourage- 
ment from the sellers. 
Margaret Deland in a leaflet writ- 
ten for the association says: “It is 
surprising that church decoration dis- 
plays so little ‘consideration’ for 
the lily of the field! The beautiful 
