Page:National Geographic Magazine, vol 31 (1917).djvu/507

 was bound to favor anything three thousand women could agree on. In the House the choice was advocated in enthusiastic terms. Upon each desk sprigs of mountain laurel were distributed by persons in favor of the bill. After a short discussion it passed. When the measure was pending in the Senate the botanical name of the laurel was inserted by a senator, who complained that the request was out of order when some one asked him to spell it.

North Dakota adopted the wild prairie rose by legislative action in 1907, the same year that Florida's legislature selected the orange blossom. By act of the General Assembly the violet has been the State flower of Illinois since the 1st of July, 1908.

Utah officially recognized the sego lily as its choice by act of its legislature in 1911. Indiana selected the carnation by legislative act in 1903, but did not specify the color of the carnation, which in our illustration was left to the artist.

The State flower movement was started by New York
The State flower movement in the United States was started by New York, although its legislature has never yet officially sanctioned a flower. In 1890 a school vote was taken in the entire State, with the result that the goldenrod was adopted by a vote of 81,308 as against 79,666 for other candidates. A year later the case was reopened, and this time the rose led, receiving 294,816 votes as against 206,402 for all the other entries. From that time the rose has been considered New York's official flower, though the vote did not specify any particular rose.

Rhode Island also chose its official emblem by the vote of the school children. In May, 1897, there was a plebiscite of the children, with the result that the violet was overwhelmingly favored and was declared the representative flower of the State.

The school children in Mississippi made the choice for that State. In 1900 the matter was submitted to a referendum, with the result that the magnolia was their nearly unanimous favorite.

The violet is also the unhesitating choice of the school children of Wisconsin. In 1909 the matter was submitted to a vote, with the result that the violet got 67,178 preferences, the rose 31,024, the arbutus 27,068, and the white water lily 22,648.

Maine's adherence to the pine cone and tassel was given by the vote of the public schools of the State, the same being true of New Mexico's support of the cactus.

According to reports furnished the National Geographic Society by the Secretaries of State and other officials of the several States, Idaho favors the syringa by common consent; the wild rose was chosen by common consent in Iowa; the Kentucky Historical Society and citizens of Kentucky prefer the trumpet vine, and the sagebrush is generally accepted in Nevada. The people of North Carolina favor the daisy generally, while through the work of the women's clubs the State of Washington held a contest which resulted in the choice of the rhododendron as that Commonwealth's flower.

Ten States have selected no State flower
In the case of Alabama it is reported that no action has ever been taken toward the adoption of a State flower, though several authorities put down the goldenrod as its emblematic blossom.

The people of Maryland are said to favor the black-eyed susan, with the sunflower second; but no formal decision has yet been made.

In Massachusetts, although the mayflower, because of its good cheer to the Pilgrims, has met with great favor, no formal selection has been made. Missouri officials say that no State flower has ever been adopted, yet several authorities publicly declare that the goldenrod has been accepted by a school vote.

New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia are without State flowers, either officially or unofficially. Popular opinion seems never to have