New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-19
THE WOODLAND PREACHER
Jack. in-the- Pulpit BeWaiIS the
DepredationS of Children
in the Parks.

You must wake and call me early call me early
mother dear. .
Tomorrow will be the happlest DAY OF all 'he
OF all the glad new year. mother, the mad
For I'm 10 be queen Of the May, mother. I'm
10 be Queen OF the May.
II has been customary for many years
for the Park Commissioners of greater New
York to issue permits for May parties
These are usually held on some Saturday
in May or June, and this year the first
permits were issued yesterday. Generally
this privilege is eagerly sought, and the
children, accompanied by older persons,
may be seen trooping through the streets
carrying their gayly decorated "maypoles
With streamers over the heads OF their
king and queen"
The custom is a beautiful one. and II is
a pity that the depredations Of the little
kings and queens Of May, who come into
the parks from all parts Of Manhattan
and even from further a1eld, apparently
bent on getting just as many Wild flowers
as their little hands and sometimes their
little arms will hold, make it impossible for
the older people to rejoice always with the
children in its survival,
The permits, Of course, are given for the
use of the large lawns set apart In all the
PARKS for such purposes, but many or the
older children, escaping the watchful or
not 30 watchful eyes Of the women VINO
accompany them. stray off into the WOOD
lands and thlckets and leave things IN
condition that has made these May parties
terror 10 all those who are concerned
for the preservation of the parks
OF all the spring flowers jack-in-the-
pulpit, preaching under the green trees, Is
perhaps better than any other known ana
loved by the children, and for this and
other rea CONS It is particularly subject TO
/ their depredations. The Jack blooms ~
the loveiest time of the year, when all the
assets Of the birches and oaks are waV-
Ing In the breeze among the new green
leaves which are unfolding so rapidly that
they can almost be seen to grow. Hopping
about among the trees, the birds are calling
20 each other on their way 10 the places
where they were born. To listen To their
happy songs, feel the bright sunshine, see
the many shades Of green, the bright color
of the grass spangled with yellow dande-
liens, the banks sprinkled with blue violets.
the moist dells filed with pink and white
spring beauties and the brown motued
leaves of tbs yellow adders tongue lily,
give Joy and gladness TO the spring days
These and many other lovely things may
still be enjoyed by the lover OF nature III
some of the parks of The Bronx, but are
RAPIDLY disappearing from others, because
the little kings and queens of the May
don't want ito be good and leave some
thing behind" Sad 20 relate, there is moth
inc more destructive and wild than child
who doesn't care, or who never thinks Of
what will happen very soon. II all the chill
dren Of greater New York take all the wild
flowers they can find every time they go
10 the parks.
fst W see what will happen TO "jack-in-
the pulpit II grows in such moist SOFT
earth that it is easily pulled up, sometimes
quite accidentally, but very few children
stop TO replace an uprooted plant Usually
they break off the Jack and throw the
pIant away, and so it happens every spring
sthat plants are found crushed and withered
on the paths leading 10 the surface cars
and elevated railroad. particularly on sat
urdays and Sundays. That this is done
mostly by school children we know, for
many times they have been caught and
questioned and the answer always is They
ere for my teacher" either for nature
study or drawing lesson sometimes Tor an
fsArbor Day. celebration, and occasionally
20 send to the downtown schools; rarely
they want them Ito plant in the yard"
The following illustrates how some teach
ers fail to appreciate the harm this 10
doing: on May 10, at o'clock In the af-
fernoon, last year I'm the New York Botani-
cal Garden, one OF the guards stopped two
teachers with their classes of boys and
girls, about ffty children from one of the
public schools in the eastern part OF Har-
lem. They had come up 10 go TO the
Zoo" but as Monday is pay day, had
made their way up through Bronx Park to
the Lorillard mansion and lunched there.
They said they had permission from the
foreman OF the Park Department to gather
"wild flowers" and as there are very few
of these left in the Fairgrounds under the
control of the Park Department, they had
strayed into the Botanical Garden along
the psths on the east side OF the Bronx