EDITORIAL 
15 
Nature study does not consist in the 
extermination of any useful or beauti- 
ful plant, nor in the annihilation of any 
except a noxious animal or an injurious 
insect. Trailing arbutus is the dain- 
tiest and most modest of our spring 
blossoms. Its fragrance is like the per- 
fume of paradise. It is not and prob- 
ably cannot be imitated by the per- 
fumer’s art. 
Here in Connecticut we have more 
regard for nature and more common 
sense. I believe we are the only state 
in the union that has passed a law 
forbidding the extermination of this 
dainty little shrub. There is no other 
place in the United States where the 
gathering of three hundred arbutus 
bouquets for a Sunday evening congre- 
gation in a church would even be 
thought of except in Poughkeepsie. In 
that respect Poughkeepsie is unique. 
It is astonishing that in a so-called 
enlightened age a wholesale slaughter 
of a rare plant can take place and be 
tolerated. The Agassiz Association 
denounces such conduct with all the 
vigor that it possesses. The one re- 
deeming feature in the whole proceed- 
ing is that possibly it may so arouse 
the nature lovers in New York State 
that they will write a law in the statute 
books to forbid the destruction of this 
delicate plant. Another little bright 
spot in the situation is the fact that 
there is anywhere on earth a spot in 
nature from which three hundred bou- 
quets of the trailing arbutus may be 
obtained. That is a revelation and a 
satisfaction. So far as Connecticut and 
many other parts of New England are 
concerned the trailing arbutus is rap- 
idly disappearing. Unless a speedy halt 
is called it will not be many years be- 
fore the plant will have totally van- 
ished. 
The reprehensible conduct of those 
Boy Scouts calls for the same strong 
denunciation that Boy Scouts are 
everywhere receiving for their total 
lack of real nature interest as evinced 
by the manner in whirh they trap wild 
animals and for which they are con- 
demned by humane societies every- 
where. Probably the picking of that 
arbutus was due to thoughtlessness, 
but that does not lessen the enormity 
of the crime, for crime it is. Such con- 
duct puts a tremendous responsibility 
on naturalists everywhere to be active 
in the protection of this rapidly dis- 
appearing plant. We are bringing this 
matter to the attention of the Boston 
Society for the Protection of Our Na- 
tive Plants. 
Wayside Despoilers. 
BY MELICENT HUMASON LEE, EL CAJON, CALIF. 
Who can conquer the vast army of 
wayside despoilers? Who can ade- 
quately punish by word of mouth 
(would that some more forceful penalty 
were permissible by law!) the hosts of 
“flower lovers” who rob the hills and 
mesas of their rightful heritage — the 
beautiful wild flowers, the seeds of 
which lie dormant through the long 
months of the dry season _ _ _ for 
what? For the glorious sending forth 
of a blossom which captivates the eager 
eye of the first tourist who passes it 
en route — en route to other wild gar- 
dens of bloom. 
Witness, as I have, a magnificent 
yucca or. as often called, “Our Lord’s 
Candle’’ (Hesperoyucca IVhipplei) 
which had just attained its perfection 
of growth, cut down in its habitat of 
noble mountain-slope overlooking a 
rugmed canon, by the ruthless hands 
of one who carried its lovely form to 
a car on the road below, to be borne 
away, only to wither in transit, per- 
chance, and your soul will rise in re- 
volt against a custom which permits 
hosts of “sight-seers” (for these are 
usually the worst offenders, the natives, 
as a rule, being too proud of their native 
flora to recklessly destroy it) to wreck 
a land of the very things which make 
it beautiful, and which attracted the 
traveler to hasten to it. But the aver- 
age traveler cares not ; he travels this 
way but once, perhaps. Let us fer- 
vently hope so ! 
Again, witness the sight of a stately, 
snowy egret shot down from a marsh 
by the roadside and stuck upon a con- 
venient spike to boast the sportsman’s 
aim to the ever-passing throng, and. in- 
cidentally, to defy the law, and you will 
wonder what will become of the nat- 
ural glories of a world which yields its 
fruits to feed its enemy — man. 
The bright-hued flowers along the way 
Are the multi-colored stars of day. 
— Emma Peirce. 
