THE N A TION AL N URSE R YM AN 
ns 
j roin iJie clinging vines and much-used roses. 
]Ma ny plaids that have sterling qualities arc seldom 
used because they are not particularly attractive or 
showy in themselves, yet when used in the right place 
give effects that are very beautiful. 
Other shrubby vines of a similar type to our illustra¬ 
tion and whieh can be used to good effect in like situa¬ 
tions are;— Evonyiims radicans Carrierei and Vegeta 
Cotoneaster hmizontalis, Lonicera pileata and Jasminum 
nudiflorum. All these are evergreen and very desirable 
on that account. 
Among the deciduous plants in addition to the Celastrus 
scandens that are very little used are Lonicera Heckrotti, 
Hydrangea scandens, Lycmin Chinense and Blgnonia' 
grandi flora. 
They are all woody growth and bunchy habit, making 
them invaluable for furnishing low walls or copings, 
rocks and banks. 
In the. background of the picture is shown an open ar¬ 
rangement of individual trees and shrubs, while such an 
arrangement is rarely practiced by landscape gardeners, 
groiqiing and massing beng the prevailing fad or fashion, 
it is the only way the individual tree or bush can be seen 
in perfection. An opportunity should never be missed to 
give a choice plant room to develop as an individual 
specimen. 
The landscape gardener who is plantsnian enough to 
produce his sky lines, mass effects, color schemes and 
groupings and yet give each individual plant opportunity 
to show its individual beauty is the master of his art. 
A NURSERYMAN’S LETTER FROM THE FRONT 
Over There, August 7, 1918. 
Dear Dad: — 
A week has passed since I last wrote. The only mail 
received since then was the leaflet of songs from the 
43rd Convention, with a “follow the lead of these Warb¬ 
lers,” that made me long for the time when I could be 
back following their lead in reality. My, what songs 
they are. I can easily imagine how great was the spirit • 
and feeling put into the singing. 
There is one, “There’s a Long, Long Trail” that we of 
the section are particularly fond of. Do you remember 
the time, and the volume of thought in the verse? When¬ 
ever I hear it a certain picture comes flitting through 
my memory. 
We were laying at anchor in Halifax Harbour. It was 
just as the sun was setting and a mighty Rritish battle¬ 
ship was putting out to sea — to battle. She fairly 
bristled with long dark gun barrels. Along the deck the 
crew stood at attention, and on the aft deck the band was 
assembled. Just as the cruiser came opposite, the band 
struck up “There’s a Long, Long Trail awinding — ” until 
they were quite a distance off. As the last notes came 
(‘choing back to us ^^■e sort of awoke from the spell and 
all voices arose as one in a mighty cheer, which they 
answered, and cheer followed cheer until the nets were 
cleared and they had straightened out for the pull to the 
open sea. 
The smoke that had been lazily rolling out of the fun¬ 
nels now came belching forth. The crew could just be 
distinguished as they hurried about making the few last 
things ship-shape and ready for anything that might 
chance their way. It was a great, thrilling sight. Here 
at last \\ e were on our way to the great adventure! There 
on the ship that had just cleared port we saw a very 
vivid phase of the adventure. That night we went to 
our bunks a sober, more thoughtful bunch of boys, 
stronger than before. 
Almost a year has passed since then, a year full of 
first doubt, I hen hope, until now we feel that we have 
crossed the bar. We have made the open sea and it is 
just straight hard sailing that lies ahead. That is our 
task until the port of victory is reached. 
What a lot has happened since then! We have known 
the keen pleasure of being on the stage where the spot¬ 
light of the whole world is focused. We have realized 
its seriousness, its sadness, its doubt, and last but not 
least the great fueling of relief that comes when we find 
the task has been done right, the folks at home will have 
no reason to be ashamed of us. That is the only glory 
and splendor in war, the realization that you have done 
your best, and that it is bringing results. 
We realized all this when our division of French 
Poilus left the N—section, where they had first halted 
and«then barred the road to P—, later going back a 
little way to be in reserve. Here we stayed several 
days, wondering when and where the next blow would 
come. At last it came, and off we went to do our bit. 
Toward the close of the day we reached the main road 
and saw again an army oii’the march, and the sad flight 
of the refugees. The memory of the almost endless 
string of horses, guns and men, all in blue, all going the 
same way, to turn the tide, will never fade. When night 
fell the sky ahead was lit by flares and flashes of am¬ 
munition dumps and supplies burning to keep them from 
falling into enemy hands. 
Even as we stopped for the night in an almost deserted 
town, still some miles from the lines, the first few shells 
came screeching in, breaking with a crash. Next day we 
moved on, going into action as soon as the lines were 
reached. For four days and nights we toiled as never 
before, with the line wavering first one way and then 
the other. Toward the middle of the third night things 
quieted down a bit so that we were able to catch a bit 
of sleep. 
At one post, the boy who wrote home and gave such a 
vivid description of our first experience was sleeping 
with a comrade, when a 250 crashed into the dugout— 
we lost two of our best chums! 
It seems this was a prelude to the coming day, the 
worst we experienced. The enemy had had time to 
place his guns and bring up fresh troops for a fresh at¬ 
tempt. The line sagged, a bit of ground was given and 
a forward post was taken, with it three more of our 
comrades. 
At the top of the next hill Fritz met our reserves and 
fell back time after time from the steady determination 
of the Poilus. Then we were relieved, a fresh lot taking 
our places. \Ve had done our bit, the invader had been 
halted long enough for the reserves to take up positions 
on a line that would never break. 
Since then we have rested a bit and taken our place 
