Virginia Cowslip {Mertensia Virginica) . A beautiful species 
frequently cultivated, having light blue flowers with pink buds, 
deep green leaves, toothless. Found on river meadows and along 
river banks, from New York to South Carolina, west to Minne- 
sota and Kansas. It should be especially protected in Ohio and 
AVestern Kentucky. 
Orchids. All varieties should be picked with the greatest 
restraint. The showy Lady's Slipper {Cypripedium hirsutum), 
and Yellow Lady's Slipper {Cypripedium parviflorum) , should 
be particularly protected in all parts of the country where they 
are found. 
Wild Blue Phlox {Phlox divaricata). Pale violet or lilac 
flowers, having notched lobes, are slightly fragrant, grow in 
loose clusters, found in moist thin woodlands from New York 
south and west to Minnesota. This beautiful flower should be 
picked very sparingly. 
Trillium. All varieties should be picked with great care, as 
it is almost impossible to pick the flower with its surrounding 
leaves without destroying the plant or leaving it with no foliage, 
without which it cannot survive. 
Flowering Trees. These blossoms should be picked only with 
short stems, not long branches, as the entire symmetry of the 
tree is usually spoiled by the tearing of branches; this is 
especially true of Wild-crabs and Hawthornes. 
Posies of the People. 
We all know the claims of our dear gardens and gladly heed 
their constant call for work, interest and love, but to some of us 
the gentle call of the wild flowers is still more insistent. 
Perhaps one reason why they appeal to us is because they give, 
asking little from us, but to be left alone. They are cared for 
by other hands than ours. The sun smiles, the rain gives them 
drink, the soil feeds them, the insects fructify them, and the 
winds and the birds plant their seeds, all without our help. 
Year by year they lift their smiling faces in their old homes, if 
we let them, with no human aid. Theirs, too, is the claim of the 
true Democrat, and one feels that they deserve for their motto 
the old saying, "Quad semper, quad ubique et quad ob 
omnibus;" at least they are "always and everywhere." They 
are the flowers of all the children and the poets who sing of the 
trailing Arbutus, the Blue Bells of Scotland and the Violets — 
Herrick's Maids of Honor. 
Many of us mark our seasons by the record of the flowers, 
when you walk the path bordered by Blood-root, Spring-beauty 
and Anemone, past the Wild Roses, Spiderwort, Quamash and 
Meadow Lilies, till 3 T ou reach the Golden-rod and Asters that 
wave us the goodbye of the flower year. Well I remember as a 
little child the glory of our undulating prairies where the long 
272 
