WILD-FLOWER SANCTUARIES.
ACORRESPONDENT signing himself " Oxonieusis," whose letter appears in another column, writes to us this week on the subject of the preservation of rare or beautiful wild flowers. He thinks that something might be done to prevent the destruction of certain flowers which are known to exist in well-defined localities, and he gives several instances of sites of rare flowers which have been already, or are being, destroyed. There is the Steep Holme in the Bristol Channel, for example, one of that pair of islands for which all West-Countrymen who have looked out over the Channel's broad grey waters have their own affection. There are very few islands quite close to the English coastline ; and if one of them has a distinct and beautiful characteristic, most certainly it ought not to be wantonly spoiled. But that, according to our correspondent, is exactly what is happening. Trippers are taken from Cardiff to visit the Flat and Steep Holmes, and on the latter have nearly succeeded in exterminating a flower which is peculiar to the island. Another instance of needless destruction is the wiping out of existence of the beautiful "Grass of Parnassus," which used to grow on the turf-moors of Somersetshire. The turf has been cut, and the flower has disappeared. But the saddest example supplied by " Oxoniensis " is the destruction of the flowering garlic,
aphaerocephalum. In Great Britain this flower grows only in one single place, on St. Vincent's Rocks, near Bristol. There were two sites where it could be found, but from one of them it has disappeared. A little girl was attracted by the flowers, and pulled up every one of them—about forty—bulbs and all. Surely the records of the destruction of wild plants, if any had been kept, could show nothing more deplorable than the consequences of this little child's perfectly natural desire for a bunch of flowers.
Unfortunately, the instances of destruction of bulbs and blossoms supplied by " Oxoniensis " could be paralleled all over the country. To take only the commonest, and unhappily, by now, the most notorious, examples, there is the yearly overrunning of the New Forest by excursionists and other visitors, which has resulted in the disappearance of the Royal fern, the magnificent Osman& regalia, which at one time was abundant in several places. Guide-books of only a few years back speak of it as growing in large quantities near the Rufus stone. To-day even the stone is invisible, though it is presumably in existence, encased in the iron covering which stands on the spot where Rufus is said to have been killed; as for the fern, you may look for it for a week without finding the trace of a root; the cocoanut-shies and the trippers have had the usual result. Possibly it still exists in one or two other places in the Forest, but these have only to become known for the same thing to happen,—that is, unless some system of protection is adopted far more stringent than any which has prevailed hitherto. Or take another ease of what was once, at all events, almost organised extermination,—that of the snake's-head fritillary at Oxford- In the meadows near the Thames, and especially those bor- dering on one of the backwaters, the spotted crimson bells of this quaint and delicate flower used to be one of the most charming sights to be seen on the river in May. Somehow a „market sprang up for it in the town and the neighbourhood, and the meadows, always accessible by water, if not by road, were ransacked for bunches; not only that, but the plants were torn up bodily, and the bulbs either sold or thrown away. The destruction was as wanton as it was wholesale ; possibly something has been done to check it by now, but certainly the depredation was entirely unchecked a few years ago, and must have resulted in the destruction of thousands of plants. Is the same fate in store for another rare and much-sought-for blossom, the Anemone pulsatilla, the pasque-flower of the breezy Chalk and limestone doemland ? It is this plant the juices of which are said to have been formerly used by eountry people to dye their Easter or Paschal eggs, though more probably it got its name merely from coming into bloom near Easter Day. It possesses, however, a tradition, and it is associated with a date; a most unhappy heritage for a rare wild flower. It will be noticed, by the way, that" Oxoniensis urges that "children and trippers are the trouble, not collec- tors." But what if children be also collectors? A case in point is that of a Sussex clergyman who, by way of encouraging "Nature study " among the village children, offered a prize for the best collection of dried flowers and ferns. One of the children heard of a very rare fern to be found not far off a right-of-way through some private woods, with the result that the rock on which it grew was half stripped before the owner discovered the damage. Such prizes ought to be offered only for certain named flowers.
The difficulties in the way of providing adequate protection for the wild flowers which need it most are undeniable. Here and there it is comparatively an easy matter; "Oxoniensis " tells us, for instance, of two or three pieces of bogland which have been acquired, and vested in trustees, in order to preserve the unique characteristics of what are practically Scotch bogs in England. No doubt this satisfactory result could not have been attained if some public-spirited person had not expended a great deal of energy, and also if the owner of the bogland had not been generously inclined; but one great difficulty was not present. The bog-flowers would probably not be attractive to children and to trippers or the general public. They merely needed preserving, not protecting. It is when a settlement of flowers that are both rare and beautiful, and therefore attractive to everybody, has been discovered that the real difficulties begin to arise; and in certain cases it is bard to think of any better way of protecting such flowers than by keeping silence about them when they are discovered. The writer, for instance, knows of a long, high bank which is actually within a few hundred yards of a thriving town, on which Osmunda ferns grow as high as a man, and seed them- selves in innumerable crevices, so that in a few minutes any one could possess himself of enough plants to stock a garden. He discovered the bank quite by accident, and had been told the day before by a local florist that all the Osmunda ferns in the neigbourhood had been dug up long ago by visitors. If a hint went out that this bank was to be pro- tected, it would be stripped before its protection could be arranged. Nor would it be even possible, in some cases, to provide means of protection. There is a certain pond, for example, which lies on a common not fifty miles from London. During this month it is a sheet of thousands of white water- lilies. It is one of the most lovely sights of the kind in existence, but it would probably be impossible to protect the lilies from a determined plunderer. Fortunately, it is not easily approached, and the writer has not yet met an inhabitant of the county who knows of its existence, though no doubt it is known to many. Lest too eager a search be made for it, perhaps it would be fair to suggest that the description just given may not be sufficiently accurate.
Something no doubt could be done, and ought to be done, for the protection of rare wild flowers. In some counties a system of preservation has already been attempted. Devonshire, for instance, has an Association which aims at wholesale preservation in certain districts, and Devonshire'a example might certainly be followed in other counties. In the case of St. Vincent's Rocks, quoted by our correspondent, doubtless the local authorities Nvill take steps—perhaps •they have already done so—to ensure the protection of the single remaining site on which the rare garlic grows. Apart, however, from particular cases, would it not be an excellent thing if there existed in every ceunty some kind of an Association qualified to deal with questions of preservation of the county flora? Bird protection
has led to admirable results in many counties;, why should not local authorities be equally proud of their native flowers, and equally anxious to protect them ? The difficulty, perhaps, is to find the actual machinery for starting such bodies as the Devonshire Association. A practical suggestion may be made here. Could not a beginning be made by the members of the county Archaeological Associations ? There must be many archaeologists who are also interested in the preservation of the flora of the county, which, after all, is older than any buildings the county can possess. All that is wanted is for such men to meet and agree upon a plan of campaign. The meetings of the Archaeological Associations, which almost alone of county societies combine for travelling purposes, would seem to provide the opportunity required.
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