A WORD
WITH THE WOMEN
(By Elia W. Peattie)
The following plea for the golden rod
as the state flower is made by Miss Ida
Brockman of Stella, Neb., the daughter
of one of the members of the present leg-
islature. It touches a question which is
of general interest, in its way. We need
out here in the west, where utility holds
us in slavery to unite ourselves by
symbols as beautiful as possible. The
printed word 'Nebraska' might well be
supplemented by a charming insignia,
and the golden rod is certainly the queen
flower of our plains, Miss Brockman
says.
From the earliest history, mankind
has made use of flowers and foliage as
emblems. The Greek athlete was
prouder of his wreath of olive laurel,
than he would have been of a circle of
gold. many of the gods and goddesses
had their sacred flower. Modern cities
and nations have often formally or
merely by popular sentiment, adopted
certain flowers or plants to represent
the peculiar traits of the people. So we
have England, the queen of nations,
choosing the rose the queen of flowers.
The emerald isle is known everywhere
by 'the little green shamrock.' The
sturdy Scotch love their hardy thistle
wearing above its rough coat, the regal
color France has her royal lilies and
her modest violet which stirs yet the
hard heart of the admirer of Napoleon
And so the list grows.
This is but natural. As flowers are
the poetry of nature, so the poetic in-
stincts of all mankind turn to them for
sympathy and expression.
A national flower for this country
has been much discussed of late years.
But so far we believe no formal action
has been taken by congress in the
meantime why should not each state
adopt its peculiar emblem? There is
not much of poetry or sentiment in a
ribbon badge with the label Nebraska.
How much more satisfactory to pin on
your lapel a bright blossom and so be
recognized everywhere as the son of
one of the grandest states in this grand
union of ours[?]
Our legislature is now considering a
resolution favoring the golden rod as
our state flower and we believe in
passing it they would make
a wise choice. The violet
is well known over the state,
but that is already interwoven with
the history of older countries. The
sunflower is brave, bright and hand-
some, even if [?] and somewhat
over-bold but that belongs to our sister
state Kansas. Probably there is
only one real rival to the golden rod its
close associate the purple aster. But
for many reasons notably uniformity of
color the golden rod is preferable.
There is probably not a nook or corner
of the state where one or more of the
numerous species are not found. It is
a native and only a true native should
be our representative.
It has a long reason, though poets
have always associated it with late
summer. The finest of specimens are
found in August and the latest flowers
brighten sheltered places late in Octo-
ber. Its courage under hardship is ad-
mirable and nothing could better rep-
resent the hardy endurance of Ne-
braska's pioneers.
It is both beautiful and graceful so
much so that, if it grew only in green
houses the rich would be ready to spend
their gold for it. But now it is free to
the poorest, blooming in every door
yard and orchard along every village
and suburban street.
The golden rod is admirably adapted
to decorative purposes both indoors and
out. It keeps its freshness for days
after cutting, and even dries well,
which is a rare good quality among
flowers.
Its color is the most beautiful in na-
ture, the color of the sunshine, the
color of our king corn, the color of gold
most precious of metals. Yet no one
can accuse golden rod of being a mono-
metallist for much of the foliage shows
decidedly a silvery cast for surely the
gold and the green are kept on a parity.
Another good point is that rarely does
it become a troublesome weed, so Ne-
braska ladies need to be shocked by
hearing their Josiahs growl about 'hav-
in trouble enough pullin' the dum
things out of their own medders.'
In appearance the many species so
closely resemble one another that all
may recognize it readily after seeing
one specimen. Probably the species
most worthy of adoption is the Solldago
Serotina, recommended by Prof. Bes-
sey.
It may be objected that the flower
has no history but neither have we-
