The Preservation of Our Wild Flowers 
MUCH has been accomplished within the last few 
years in securing proper protection for our 
feathered friends, through arousing a country- 
wide interest towards the preservation and propagation 
of our native birds. The time now seems at hand to 
make an equally strong appeal for the preservation 
and protection of our native plants and to discourage 
their wanton destruction, which, if not checked, will 
eventually result in the complete extinction of some 
of our most favorite wild flowers. 
L. P. Jensen, of St. Louis, Mo., in an address before 
the American Association of Park Superintendents, at 
its convention at San Francisco last fall, cited the fol- 
lowing as some of the principal reasons for the de- 
struction of and consequent disappearance of our na- 
tive plants. 
1. The entire cutting out of woodlands for timber, in 
the wasteful American way, for the making of land 
for the growing crops. 
2. The destruction of undergrowth in woodlands for 
the making of pasture for stock. 
3. The destruction of undergrowth for no other pur- 
pose, than that, of a false idea of tidiness. 
4. The wanton destruction of woody flowering plants, 
by persons gathering flowers. 
5. The pulling up of entire plants when gathering 
flowers. 
6. The removal of plants from their native habitat, 
for the purpose of transplanting, by persons who have 
no conception of their growing requirements. And 
7. Last, but not least, the lack of popular education 
on the subject of plant preservation and protection. 
Mr. Jensen, in speaking of the common practice of 
destroying woodland property, said : 
"The first act of most persons coming into posses- 
sion of a parcel of natural woodland, is to improve (?) 
it by cleaning out all the undergrowth of shrubs and 
herbs. This practice is so very common, that any one, 
who happens to have the contrary view on this matter, 
is looked upon, by his neighbors, as somewhat irra- 
tional. 
"I have personal knowledge of many a place, whose 
charm consisted of its native growth of redbud, flower- 
ing dogwood, crab-apple, hawthorn, native roses, vari- 
eties of viburnums, sumac, bittersweet, native grapes, 
intermingled with asters, golden rods, purple cone 
flower, butterfly weed and other attractive and desir- 
able native plants, which have been changed, with an 
idea of improvement, by completely destroying these 
natives, and replacing them with a few beds of annual 
flowering plants. 
"I have one particular instance in mind, where I had 
been called upon to work out a design, which would 
adapt a ten acre parcel of natural woodland to the 
requirements of a country home for a well-known St. 
Louis physician, who is a great lover of botany. 
"This parcel of land is located on the bluffs over- 
looking the Mississippi River, over which some splen- 
did views were secured, simply by the removal of a 
few branches. By retaining most of the native growth 
of plants, and by careful selection of additional plant- 
ing material, the result has been most pleasing and 
satisfactory. 
"One of his neighbors, who had employed the usual 
clearing up process in the development of his place, 
thereby utterly destroying its charm asked me, what 
he cuuld do to make his homegrounds more attractive. 
To this question there seemed only one answer, re- 
store the greater part of that which you have de- 
stroyed. Unfortunately it would take many years 
and much work to do so. 
"Woody plants, whose value consists principally in 
their great number of beautiful flowers, are often ex- 
terminated by thoughtless persons, who break the 
plants to pieces for the gathering of an armful of flow- 
ers, which in most cases wither and are thrown away 
along the roadside. They do not realize that their act 
creates wounds, which seldom heal, but which give 
opportunities for the spread of diseases, which through 
the wound, enter the tissues of the plant, resulting 
ultimately in its destruction. 
"Other plants, growing in the loose and mellow 
leafmold of the woods, are destroyed by gatherers of 
flowers, who carelessly pull out the entire plant. 
"The popularity of nature study is responsible for 
the destruction of many plants, because most authors 
and writers on this subject neglect to call attention to 
the importance of plant protection. 
"In the vicinity of cities the woods are denuded of 
their former wealth of ferns and flowering herbs, by 
persons who wish to transplant them into their gar- 
dens, but who do not realize that these plants require 
a soil and situation which is not often to be found, or 
provided on a city lot or in the country garden border. 
The result in such cases is always the ultimate death 
of the plant." 
Appealing to have this thoughtless extermination 
of our woodland plants halted Mr. Jensen urged that it 
is evident that some of our most interesting and 
beautiful native plants are in need of our protection, 
and that the matter of their protection is of sufficient 
importance to be considered by every one interested 
in the perpetuation of the beauties of nature. 
Teachers, writers and speakers endeavoring to popu- 
larize our native plants, should always call attention 
to their need of protection, and how and why they 
should be protected. Much good might be accomp- 
lished in this manner, and all of us should come for- 
ward with a helping hand in this movement of edu- 
cation. Here is where the superintendent of pub- 
lic parks and the superintendent of large private 
estates may be of the greatest service to the cause, 
by introducing these plants in the parks when- 
ever, and wherever, an opportunity presents itself. 
He should study the habits and requirements of those 
plants which are becoming scarce, in his locality, and 
find suitable places for them, thereby giving them ab- 
solute protection. He should inform the school au- 
thorities and the public about the presence of those 
plants in the parks, at the same time calling their at- 
tention to interesting facts concerning these plants, 
their beauty, scarcity in the locality, and the importance 
of their protection wherever found. Then you are not 
only preserving the plants, but also educating the 
public to an appreciation of our native flora. 
Each one will be required to study his own locality, 
to determine which plants are becoming scarce, which 
are already extinct and which are apt to become ex- 
terminated in the near future. Certain plants should 
be protected everywhere, for example, the orchid fam- 
ily, the members of which, owing to the peculiar form 
of their flowers, are adapted to fertilization by but few 
insects, and consequently, many of these plants, not 
being fertilized, fail to produce seeds, which results 
in slow perpetuation of the species. 
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