
Dedicated to S. R. McKee, owner of the S. R. McKee 
Nurseries and Rose Gardens, by Rev. J. W. Treadwell. 
THE NURSERYMAN 
I have a friend who was trained in his home 
To think of flowers and of trees 
Which adorn the world in which we live 
And give fruit instead of leaves. 
He says God gave us the flowers and trees 
To teach us His attributes true. 
Love, kindness and happiness are expressed 
And their fragrance expresses His love. 
He communes with God in Nature 
And sees Him in flower and trees. 
His soul is filled with praises 
In seeing God expressed in these. 
His flowers, shrubs and trees adorn 
The homes of the rich and poor. 
They make hearts rejoice in hours of gloom 
And their fragrance give hope and cheer. 
When the crepe hangs on the door knobs 
And the home of God’s children bereft 
God speaks through his beautiful flowers 
Of the eternal home of the blest. 
I like to wander about his place 
And see God in flowers and trees. 
It makes me pray that I may so live 
As to leave something besides leaves. 
One of the greatest needs of the world today is a 
larger and broader conception of the Lord, life and 
living. 
Through all of these many years I have lived con- 
stantly very close to NATURE among the trees, plants 
and flowers, and as these ripening years go by I still 
enjoy the things that have heretofore given me pleas- 
ure and with an ambition and determination to fill up 
the reservoirs of my mind and soul with treasures 
that will go into eternity. 
I have come to where my deepest and most gratify: 
ing pleasure, along with the study and communing 
with trees, plants and flowers, is to get into communi- 
cation personally and through the printed page with 
skilled minds highly endowed with intellect and 
imagination and enjoy their wrestlings with the prob- 
lems of man and the universe and their interpreta- 
tions of the beauties of life and living. 
UNBOUNDED VISION 
Dr. Yoakum, with his seemingly unbounded vision 
of things useful, beautiful and glorious in Nature 
could graft his ideas and ideals into his trees, plants 
and flowers in such a forceful way as to get quick re- 
sponse. As a barefooted boy, I was greatly amazed 
at what looked like miracles from his handiwork. 
Positive results were reflected so forcefully as to show 
the real likeness of this great genius and wizard of 
Nature World. 
When my body is hungry bring me some fruit. 
When my soul is hungry, bring me some beautiful 
flowers. 
IMPORTANCE OF A STRONG 
MOTHER TREE | 
The world was old before the tillers of the soil 
learned of the value of good seeds for planting; it was 
still older before the fact was brought home to them 
that seeds of field-run or orchard-run led inevitably 
to the deterioration of plants and fruit trees. About 
fifty years ago it was exceptional to hear of a man 
who specialized in the improvement of seed corn and 
seed cotton. Such specialists are numerous today and 
are recognized as progressive agriculturists, and they 
have accomplished a great deal for themselves and 
their country in introducing varieties of special merit 
and great value. 
In horticulture it must be said that progress has 
been less notable. We can recall the time when we 
had with us such ones of Nature’s noblemen as Dr. 
F. L. Yoakum, Mr. Gilbert Onderdonk, and Mr. G. A. 
McKee, who were insatiabie lovers of trees and plants. 
These men had the ability to improve that which was 
improvable, and each one lived the part he played in 
life, and have now gone down into history as great 
public benefactors because of being vital forces in 
bringing about improved conaitions in the nurseries 
and orchards of the country. In those days these good 
nurserymen had their own experimental or trial or- 
chard where each variety of fruit was thoroughly test- 
ed and tried out and proven to be worthy of propaga- 
tion before the trees were grown for sale. And all the 
stock was propagated from bearing trees of proven 
merit, and when these young trees were grown and 
sold they gave perfect satisfaction because they bore 
good fruit like that of their parents. 
EARLY MORNING OZONE 
Nothing like it to promote good health. It costs 
nothing more than some work in the flower and 
vegetable garden. This ozone, with the fragrance and 
beauty of the flowers as food for your soul and the 
vegetables as food for your body. No need for anyone 
to go hungry in this country. 
2ee@ces 
ri iv Herald Print, Palestine 

