Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-04-24
April "a National
Wild Flower Day

The fine spring days are enticins
people into the country. They are
| nice. well-meaning and law-abiding
people, but their instinct is that of de-
struction. II you should tell them
so they would be offended; but let
them sight some dogwood. redbud,
trillium, rhododendron, columbine,
California poppy or other attractive
flower and their destructive .lstinct
| is at once demonstrated. Branches
are ruthlessly torn off, often taking
| with them long strips of bark and
whole trees are broken down to OBJ
tain the flowers. A few Of the trees
recover or live long after such treat
ment. A bed of beautiful herbaceous
flowers is picked clean, leaving none
to go to seed, and il by chance they
are not firmly rooted, even the r.ots
are pulled up with the Towering stem,
and the locality is robbed OF its CHIEF
attraction forever.
On any pleasant spring Sunday, or
holiday, anyone may see dozens OF
large punches of our rapidly disap-
bearing flowers thrown aside because
Of their wiIted condition. Would 1t
not have given the thoughtless picker
greater satisfaction to revisit the los
cality and see an ever increasing dis
play than to see them diminishing
without stopping to wonder why
What nature lover would not go a
| long way to see several acres nearly
solid with the wild blue phlox, but
the one large bed near the National
Capital is in a wild life preserve and
may only be seen by club members
and guests, and not picked. without
protection this bed would now show
only a few scattered plants. Few
flowers are more attractive than the
common blue violet. On account OF
it's two kinds Of flowers, one appear
ing in the fall at the base OF the
stems and rarely seen by the casual
. observer. 1t may be picked freely tput
not the birdfoot violet which mas no
hidden fall flowers) If you nave a
shady nook in your yard, care1ully
transplant a dozen plants OF the com
mon blue violet with good ball OF
dirt with each and in two or three
years they will have quadrupled ana
will furnish you an ever-increaslng
number of flowers for picking.
The Columbine, the state flower OF
Colorado, is being rapidly destroyed,
and the California Poppy. long con-
sidered abundant is now reported dis
appearing and only few large helds
Of it remain.
On account of this ruthless destruc-
ton of nature, Mrs. Bertha NJ. Rlce
started the idea of a National via
Flower Day at the Panama Paclnc
Exposition in 1915. 1t has since been
urged every year by Albert r. Stln-
manl of San Diego, California ana
April "a has been designated as the
date. Teachers are urged to give a
special talk on this day to the chill
dren, urging the protection or the
rarer wild flowers.
Several states have passed laws 10
protect wild flowers, but reports IN
dictate that they are not enforced, and
organizations and individuals agltat-
ing for such laws would have some
real results to show for their efforts
if they followed the Wild Flower
Preservation Society Dogwood Cam
paign plan. which has almost entirely
stopped the destruction of Dogwooo
in the District Of Columbia and ao-
Joining parts of Maryland and Vir-
einia. and is being effectively used in
many other parts of the country, not
only for Dogwood, but for other now
ers needing protection.
A circular listing some OF the rarer
flowers and many that can be picked
with little or no danger of extermi-
nation, together with other educa-
tional literature, will be sent free to
anyone sending a stamp to the Wild
Flower Preservation Society, Wash
ington, D. c.