THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 5 
for the sake of fashion, selfishness, or the thoughtless plunder of ^ 
speamens in the so-called interest of science. In the first respect, 
probably no flower suffers more extensively than that loveliest 
of all early spring flowers, the trailing arbutus. Its beautiful, 
fragrant blossoms sell for good prices in the cities, while the 
growing scarcity with the increased demand make profitable an 
industry, which will eventually exterminate the species. The 
azaleas, laurels, and the holly are, in their seasons, subjected to 
similar depredation. The spring beauties, shooting stars, adder's 
tongues, wood violets, columbines, anemones and bloodroots are 
the prey of the many May-parties which are thoughtlessly rob- • 
bing the wooded hills along our streams. The inexperienced stu- 
dents of Botany are also often guilty of injudicious gathering of 
specimens. It is sad to see a crowd of high school pupils turned 
loose upon a patch of bellwort or wood anemone, or others of our 
rarer species. Unaware of the harm they are doing, without the 
caution or advice of teachers, oftentimes, how can we blame them? 
But the careless destruction of plants is a fault confined not alone 
to the elementary and inexperienced students, for it is common to 
many botanical collectors and professional plant gatherers, who 
are or should be, aware of the danger of extermination, which 
they are helping increase, — a danger which all true botanists and 
plant lovers are seeking to prevent. 
SOME CALIFORNIA CACTI. 
There is, perhaps, no State in the Union blessed with so 
varied a flora as is California, and of this flora there is no section 
so interesting, yet withal so deceiving, as the cacti of our arid 
lands. I say ''deceiving" advisedly, as many a tourist who has 
innocently attempted to pluck the delicious-looking fruit of the 
"tuna" will voluntarily testify. But his fear and dislike of them, 
given forth from his seat on the ''overland" in the form of a wear- 
ied exclamation, "More sand and cactus !" will probably change, 
before he (or she) leaves for his Eastern home, into a positive 
mania for collecting these peculiar plants, crowned as they are 
with beautiful waxy blossoms of varied hue. 
