

"I'm looking for a desirable home," the old man said, after they had talked a while. "I dropped off 

 here because I liked the looks of the place from the train. Somehow I got the idea that most of the people 

 here are prosperous, and that there must be something pleasant in the situation that most of the other towns 

 don't have." 



The young man smiled. Six years before the town had not been so inviting. As far as the streets and 

 lawns went, its condition had been so disreputable that the Superintendent of the railroad had sent a man 

 there to suggest a change to the leading citizens. He told them that the railroad was going to clean up its 

 station grounds. "Most of you have put considerable money into your houses," he told them frankly; "they 

 would be good-looking houses, too, if they had a chance, but they are tough looking now because of their 

 surroundings. Up the road about two miles there's a farm house; yes, you know it. Well, it's a plain house, 

 and I suppose cost only half what most of these did, but it looks and is a lot better right now. What's the 

 reason?" 



His visit produced results. First one family and then another took the piles and scattered pieces of 

 truck away, straightened the walks, planted some roses and shrubs and hedges, and repaired the fences. 

 In six years the change was complete. As the old man came back from his walk in the afternoon, he looked 

 down a clean street, lined on both sides with straight, live fences, the yards neat and open in the center, 

 with roses and shrubbery about. Up at the school-house the children were doing something with the grounds 

 and hedge there (different from the gang around the station ten miles below, he reflected). And the next 

 day he paid the owner of the Ardell place $6,500 for that property — the same property that had gone 

 begging when offered for $3,900 four years before. 



Unusually 

 Good Maples 



BARBERRY THUNBERGII 



A low, spreading hedge, or single plant, the nature of which is best shown in the picture on page 45. 

 It gets only i3^ to 3 feet high. The branches grow very thick, and, when well cared for, the hedges 

 or clumps are round, dense, handsome and useful. Toward fall there are blossoms, and, later, berries of 

 the brightest red, and these hang on all winter. 



Each 10 100 1,000 



6 to 12 in |o 15 |i 00 18 00 $75 00 



12 to 15 in 20 I 50 10 00 



NORWAY, SILVER 

 AND ASH-LEAF MAPLES 



The importance of these trees to our customers is very 



great. We offer them in a department of their own in order 

 that their merits may receive the atten- 

 tion deserved. Both our Norway Maple 

 and our Silver Maple trees are so unusu- 

 ally good that those who are about to 



plant certainly would be convinced that these are the trees 



to buy if they could see them growing here. When the 



effort and study it took to get the best are fully understood, 



their excellence will be appreciated. 



A little history is necessary for an understanding of 



how good they really are: When we became convinced of 



the great merit of both Norway and Silver Maples, and saw 



how much better they were, for many purposes, than any 



other shade trees, we wanted to grow a large quantity. 



But it was quickly found that the best Norway Maples 



in the United States always were imported from Europe. 



American-propagated Maples did not seem to have the 



beauty and the vitality we saw in those grown across the 



water. 



So our Mr. Orlando Harrison went to Holland, England 



and Belgium, where the very best shade trees in the world 



TrpAc frnm ^^^ grown. His trip was not one of pleasure 

 with business as a side issue. He went for 



Europe ^^e express purpose of buying trees. Every 



nursery of any importance was visited, and 



thousands of the straightest, most thrifty and cleanest 



trees he could buy were selected. These were shipped to 



Berlin, Maryland, and planted in our nursery. We paid 



a high import duty on them, also very heavy freight charges, 



and have given them particular care in cultivation and 



shaping since they arrived. But we do not count anything 



as too expensive if it will give us the quality of trees we want. 

 The prices we quote are for these very trees. They are 



the best trees in America. All that has been said about the 



desirability of shade trees in general applies with double 



force to them. Here are brief descriptions: 



41 



What can be done with California Privet 



