Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-02-01
STATE FLOWERS
ATTRACT NOTICE
Geiser's Bill Likely to Be Usual
Fruitful Theme of Legislative
Discussion

The mountain laurel leads in 1915
as the prospective floral emblem of the
State. The interesting il not momen-
tous question. of a State flower arises
and because of the diversity of opinion
as to the most appropriate emblem
always fails of solution.
Representative Frederick Geiser. of
Northampton county, in an effort to
solve the problem has introduced a bill
designating the mountain laurel, or
scientifically, the kalmia latifolia, as
the State flower.
At the 1919 session of the Legis-
lature there were enough flowers sug-
gested to make a good-sized bouquet.
The daisy was suggested in a bill but
the farmers objected on the ground
that to thsm at least the white petaled
flowers with the sparkling yellow CEN
ter was nothing at all but an obiec-
tionable weed. Then the violet was
mentioned. but the modest bit of soft
blue was rejected, principally on the
ground that it could be found only for
relatively short season of the year.
The trailing arbutus was then sug-
gested, and this, too, fell by the way
side.
The Geiser bill has been referred to
the committee on judiciary local and
before long an effort will be made to
amend the measure so as to make the
tender and graceful but withal the
plebian fern the State emblem. Those
who advocate the waving fern as the
proper floral emblem point out that
in the State can be found a hundred
different varieties of ferns. Four of
these are among the worlds most
noted species. These four varieties
were first found in the vicinity of
Philadelphia and IL is therefore claimed
that the fern is pre- -eminently the best
nj Mt n oh
istics of Pennsylvania.
Thirty-one states of the Union have
appropriate floral emblems. Some of
these were designated by legislative
action, some by a vote of the public
schools, while others are just taken for
granted. Connecticut is the only State
which designated the mountain laurel
as a floral emblem. The States which
by legislative action have adopted
floral emblems and the flowers selected
are: Florida, orange blossoms; Mon
tana, bitter root, and Ohio. the scarlet
carnation.
The apple blossom is the floral en-
blem of Arkansas and Michigan, while
Delaware has the peach blossom. The
golden rod typifies the States OF Ala
bama. Tennessee, Kentucky and Ne
| braska, and in Illinois, Rhode Island
and Wisconsin the dainty violet reigns
supreme. New Jersey has the golden
rod and the violet, with a slight prefer
ence for the former.
The sunfower fiourishes in Kansas
and the wild rose in Iowa and in North
Dakota, while New York has just the
plain rose. Georgia fancies the Chero-
kee rose. The rhododendron belongs to
both Washington and West Virginia; the
magnolia finds favor in Mississippi and
Louisiana Maine has the pine cone
and tassel and New Mexico has chosen
! the prickly cactus. Oregon boasts the
Oregon grape with pardonable home
pride and Colorado sports the festive
! colum bine. In Vermont the red clover
holds sweet-scented sway and the blue
bonnet is worn in Texas. The mistle-
toe-that sprig of temptation in the
Yuletide seasons claimed by Okla
| homa, and in Maryland the black-eyed
Susan is the favorite. Idaho has the
syringa, Minnesota the moccasin, South