Letters From the Front

Dated: February 18, 1918

France
18.2.18

Dearest Girlie.

Another fine clear day but with quite a heavy frost during the nights, three nights now we have had frost. Some thought we were having summer all at once and wanted to start planting seeds right away and it was lucky our seeds had not arrived or they would have put them in and had their plants all frozen. And the local inhabitants all say they nearly always have frosts until mid March. Am sending a lorry to Paris tomorrow to bring up our seeds and am busy on several farms getting beds ready for forcing plants. On Brimacombes farm we are building a small greenhouse for early plants to be used later to grow vegetables that have to have glass. In spite of it being warmer here than at home there are very few more vegetables that will ripen than at home. Onions do not do well. Tomatoes do not ripen in the open, nor corn, although quite a bit is grown but only for fodder. Our Army gardeners who are drawn from the four quarters of the globe would each like to try the vegetables that he grew in his own paticular garden. But we are holding them down to standard varieties that are known to do well in these parts and if these gardeners like to try any fancy sorts they are quite welcome but at their own expense. Our line is potatoes, cabbage, carrots, turnips, sweeds, beets and lettuce and small quantities of peas, beans, radish, brussell sprouts and cauliflower. Potatoes over fifty percent, these will be planted on all heavy or sod land not fit for smaller vegetables. Many of our plots will be small around Camps in back areas, and other small plots up among the shell holes on land not fit to plough but which can be dug by hand. The Hun did a lot of this sort of work a year ago along the Ridge and our Boys reaped the harvest. Sometimes as the units were coming out of the line to support trenches they would gather turnips or cabbage as the came along or if the vegetables were in exposed positions they would send up parties at night to gather them. Just fancy going out onto a machine-gun swept spot to pull carrots. Was up again yesterday watching our tractors work. Cotton was with me and he was not satisfied until he had tried driving on around the field. In civil life he is a motor car merchant so understands gas engines. These tractors run on either gas or coal oil, best and cheapest on the latter. I am always wondering what would happen to the driver in case the plow struck and exploded a six inch dud. I think the makers of these tractors the International would give a big sum for some pictures of these tractors plowing among old trenches, shell holes, barbed wire entanglements, gun pits and broken down dugouts. I hope that when the official photographer comes around again he will think it worth while to give us an hour or so, it would be fine to have some records of this work. Of course you know that it is a Court Martial offence to even have a camera in ones possession over here let alone to take pictures. I have a few souveeners gathered up which I hope they will allow me to take home when the war is over. Just now they also are forbidden. Many a Lad gets interesting things gathered up and packs them around for months in hope of getting them home then gets a blighty and loses them all as he is often carried out and never sees his pack again. Am sending you a little bell made by Mr. Monod, this is not a forbidden object. Monod and Rowan are going up forward today to take charge of the Australian five hundred acre farm.

Now Bye Bye Sweetheart Mine

John