10() JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



it until you are stopped by some other and better authority than, 

 perhaps amiable but certainly ignorant persons who imagine a 

 plant (produced it may be at the evening tabic d'hote) to be 

 nearing extinction if they have never found it near the roadside 

 in their " lowland " wanderings ; or, I may add, than those very 

 selfish persons, happily few, and for whom I feel even less 

 respect, who would ban all plant-collecting whatever, with the 

 vast pleasure which it brings to hundreds of us, if so they them- 

 selves may casually see a few plants the more from their carriage 

 windows. There are, so far as I know (I speak of true Alpine 

 plants wanted or taken for their beauty), few which are really at all 

 scarce. Any which are so, take only sparingly — collect their seed, 

 and raise from it when you can. I may say in a parenthesis that 

 the much-prized Edelweiss, of whose threatened extinction we hear 

 perhaps most, is thus so easily raised in a year that there is no 

 purpose at all, except for the sake of association or similar reason, 

 in collecting the plant. 



Be slow to collect any plant whatever from near a public 

 pathway. There can rarely be any purpose in so doing, for it is 

 sure to be found in greater plenty not far off, and out of sight of 

 Mrs. Grundy, as well as of more agreeable people. If you will, 

 scatter discriminatingly any seed you find and don't want. 

 Easily may you thus help Nature far more than you rob her. 

 All reckless or purposeless collecting (and there is a good deal of 

 it) is to be deprecated, and the few really rare plants should be 

 sparingly taken. An excellent society exists for these objects, 

 and should have our support. But for the rest, I am not aware 

 of many Alpine plants which we want for our gardens, or for 

 those of others, which cannot be had in any reasonable quan- 

 tity (by looking for them in the right places) without, so to 

 speak, their being missed. It may, I own, some day be othenvise, 

 if, as is likely, or at least possible, the demand for Alpines should 

 much develop and grow. In that case precautions may become 

 proper which under present circumstances are needless ; but I 

 take it to be also probable that in that event the demand will 

 be supplied largely from seed rather than by importation. In- 

 deed the main commercial demand ought to be on more grounds 

 than one, and probably is, thus supplied. Of newly ripened seed, 

 promptly sown, in the majority of cases germination is as safe 

 and easy as with any other classes of plants, although results, of 



