38 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
and a standing protest against the too common idea that 
a tree should he straight in trunk and uniform in out¬ 
line, even if the nature of the tree is to he the contrary. 
A vigorous tree, true to its type, is always more beautiful 
than one which owes its symmetry to the skill of the 
gardener. 
From a horticultural point of view, beautiful as fruit 
trees are when in flower, the crabs that have been long 
cultivated for the sake of the bloom are more so. The 
Oriental peoples seemed to have appreciated this long 
beforq we did, as evidenced by the world renowned 
flowering cherries and crabs of Japan and China. Most 
of the beautiful varieties to be seen in American gar¬ 
dens seem to have originated there. 
We have one at least of American origin and American 
stock, of which we may be justly proud, Pyrus ionensis, 
Bechtel’s Double Flowering Crab. This originated from 
Prairie or Western Crab Apple, and is truly a gem among 
flowering trees. 
The subject of our illustration is a fine piece of Pyrus 
pulcherrina, Scheideckeri. This variety originated at 
Scheidecker’s Nursery at Munich, from seeds of P. pul- 
cherina. It has semi-double very light pink flowers and 
very floriferous as illustrated in the picture. 
The foregoing and Pyrus Halliana, Parkrrmnni, Park- 
man’s Flowering Crab, and Pyrus spectabilis, are the 
ones most often met with in nurserymen’s catalogues, 
but there are numerous others just as worthy of atten¬ 
tion. The flowering crabs offer a very fertile field for 
the hybridist and improver of plants. The potential pos¬ 
sibilities are enormous. 
There are a great number of species and varieties 
which are extremely variable, almost defying the botanist 
to classify them. Many of them have handsome persis¬ 
tent fruit, which adds greatly to their value as orna¬ 
mental plants. It is a group of plants that should sug¬ 
gest itself to the nurserymen of the middle West. 
There are possibilities for a nursery that will special¬ 
ize on them, to become famous. 
MEMORIAL TREES 
Camp Dix as a permanent army post will have a living 
tree as a memorial for every New Jersey boy who has 
died in the service, under plans announced this week by 
the committee on camp beautification, appointed by Major 
General Hugh L. Scott. 
The committee, of which General Secretary Frank 
Wan del, of the Knights of Colmnbus, is chairman, an¬ 
nounces that the plan will be submitted soon to every 
municipality in New Jersey. Cities, boroughs and town¬ 
ships will be asked to present a tree for every man from 
their respective municipality who has died while in the 
service. The committee will select the varieties of trees 
to be planted, so that it can cany out a universal scheme 
of beautification. 
Arbor day probably will be selected as a memorial oc¬ 
casion when these trees will be planted. 
WILLIAM FLEMER, JR. 
William Flemer, Jr., of the F. & F. Nurseries, Spring- 
field, New Jersey, has been awarded the Croix de Geurre 
for bravery under intense bombardment. 
It is a far cry from the Baby Ramblers, cradle roll of 
the Natonal Nurserymen’s Association, to the French War 
Cross bestowed for bravery in action but that was our 
“Bill” Flemmer’s jump in two years. 
Mr. Flemer enlisted in June, 1917, going to Camp 
Crane at Allentown, Pa. In August the same year he 
sailed for France on the S. S. Baltic, landing at St. 
Nazaire. 
Went into action with the French Army, October 18th, 
remaining with thenii until the amiistice was signed. He 
was in the Ambulance Corps, Battalion 23 and right in 
the thick of the fighting. Four of the boys from the same 
unit were killed and three taken prisoners. The last 
letters from Mr. Flemmer were received January 9th, 
sent from Muhlhausen, Gennany. 
When writing some of his experiences he says:— 
“We have seen our share of the fighting this year. It 
started with the time the Boche first broke through last 
spring. Our division was a part of the French army that 
was brought up to stem the tide. We took up our posi¬ 
tion just outside of Noyon and had some darn hard work, 
beleive me. 
“There we stayed six weeks and then went out to rest 
and be ready for any other emergency. It came the last 
week in May, when Fritz again broke through on the 
Aisne, making a quick march in the direction of Soissons. 
We took up our position about two miles from that city. 
Here the old division proved its mettle again, for it 
stopped the enemy and was like a stone in their way hold¬ 
ing and doing what would seem like the impossible in 
order that the reseiwes might come up and things be ar¬ 
ranged that the enemy advance be checked. Those were 
the worst days I’ve ever experienced. We had four days 
and nights of a regular Hades. 
“It couldn’t have lasted much longer because there was 
nothing left of the division. Attack and counter-attack 
followed one another in quiek succession. First the line 
went one way and then another. They would push us 
back and you would think they had things their way, but 
then, somehow, almost miraculously, those Frenchmen 
would come back and simply push Fritz back again. 
“At night the sky was red with the burning villages 
and flashes of guns. If the racket stopped for a bit the 
night bombers overhead could be heard coming and going. 
“One night I was making a trip with an ambulance and 
on the way back had to pass through Crepy en Valoise. 
There was a big ammunition dump outside of the town 
along the railroad. An enemy bomber had dropped a 
bomb on it and when I came along in the flivver, it was 
burning and cracking in great style. It lit things up like 
day and the devil being still overhead to see if anything 
came along must have spotted me, because just as I got 
into town—bang! went a bomb in the building behind. 
Three or four more came in quiek succession, but I got 
nothing but a couple of holes in the old bus and heard the 
