The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-11-18
Mr.. John Mitchell Colmant, Well
Known Florist, Has a Word TO Say
About "Arbor Day. in Birn1in ham
BY DOLLY pALRympLE

| .Aabor Day" which will be celebrated
by the schools in Birmingham on next FRI
day, will be an occasion of great interest
| to the entire community.
'eThe City Beautiful plan which
has been of such tremendous benefit to
Birmingham and which has assumed the
most satisfactory proportions, especially
during the past year. will reap a harvest
on that day and not only the school chill
dren and teachers, but every public spir-
tied citizen In this town should lend ma
terial assistance on "Arbor Day. to the
identifying of their premises and thus
adding another note of comeliness to. the
city's already attractive appearance.
The nurserymen throughout the city
have been actively interested in "Arbor
Day" plans, and some of them have made
flattering offers to those who wish to
purchase trees for that occasion, pricing
them at figures fabulously low and quite
within the reach of anybody's purse.
Always public spirited and willing to
lend helping hand to the identifying of
the city, is Mr.. John Mitchell Colmant,
president of the famous Colmant Nur-
series at West End, and a member of this
well known Hugh Seals Floral company
and on the occasion of "Arbor Day." has
shown his interest to a substantial de.
gree by generously donating several hun
bred trees for this purpose, and offering
his services and advice in the matter of
planting them.
One of Mr.. Colmants ''hobbies'' is the
preservation and care of the city's trees
those already adjoining the sidewalks.
the parks and the yards, as well as the
planting of additional trees. thus aug
menting the beauty and color of the sur
roundings.
Mr. Colmant's wide experience and un-
qualified success with flowers and trees
is too we'll established to need comment
and word from him concerning "Arbor
Day." will no doubt be of great interest
to those who will participate in the &C.
casion.
'Arbor Day celebration next Friday"
said Mr.. Colmant in speaking of the ap-
preaching event, reminds us of the fact
that our shade trees are the nearest touch
of nature that we people of the city can
indulge in, and to the most thrifty ones
among us in our busy life who are strv-
ing to save something each year from
our earnings, it would be well TO trans
late literally the saying, "A penny saved
Is penny made into "a tree saved is a
tree planted We have some handsome
trees in the city of Birmingham, but 1t
seems that those trees which are grow
ing in spots that would give the most
pleasure to the greatest number, are the
trees most neglected and most abused"
1T would be useless to expend time and
money on diseased trees" continued Mr.
Colmant, growing near the heart of the
city, that we know in a short time must
be uprooted to give place to the erec-
ton Of business houses, but growing
along the parking areas of streets in the
residential PARTON of the city there are
thousands upon thousands of shade trees
that have been planted by some one in
the years past or perhaps volunteer ma
tive trees that happened to be growing In
the desired location of sidewalk tree
and we could do no better than to con-
slider these on this occasion
Trees that have few broken
branches he said, trees that have the
bark knocked off or small decayed cavi-'
ties beginning to show up; trees that have