From Backyard Gardener to 



Dahlia King in 25 Years 



The Romance of a Modern Business 

 which, from a hobby, developed into one 

 of the largest enterprises of its kind 



IG oaks from little acorns 

 "3^f grow — and the little acorn, 

 VS j| in this case, proved to be 

 a hobby. That hobby was 

 a flower — The Dahlia — 

 which I found to be fraught with possi- 

 bilities, as soon as I learned to look upon 

 it as something other than an old- 

 fashioned "posey." For years I grew 

 Dahlias for my own pleasure. Then I 

 made my pleasure my business. 



Started with 60 Bulbs of 



60 Kinds and — no capital! 



This was 25 years ago. I was in another line 

 of business then, growing Dahlias as a side line. 

 Since my Dahlias always did so much better 

 than my neighbors', they soon applied to me for 

 surplus bulbs. Thus the business started. En- 

 couraged by this initial success I added 20 

 more different and new kinds to my collection. 

 The next year my sales amounted to $72.00 — 

 not much, but enough to encourage me to go on. 



Proud of My First 



Four-page Catalogue 



Because I thought that other Dahlia lovers, 

 outside of East Bridgewater, would like to know 

 about my favorites, 1 issued my first catalogue 

 in 1895. It was a very modest affair, but it did 

 the business. Part of the $198.00 worth of 

 Dahlia Bulbs disposed of that year were sold 

 through the catalogue. Because the year before, 

 I had won several prizes at our local fair, I de- 

 cided to stake my Dahlias against the best in 

 the country. The result was that I 



Won the First Prize in Boston 



big show in 

 ■ultural Hall, 

 nee then, 

 mv growing 

 exhibits 

 at all the 

 leading 

 World's 

 F airs 

 and Ex- 

 positions 

 have al- 

 ways won 

 lion o rs of 

 h e highest 

 egree. 



Two Big Fires Wiped Out 

 Everything — 



When I look back upon the year 1901. 

 I don't know whether to think of it as 

 a disaster or a "blessing in disguise." 

 It surely robbed me of all I had, but 

 also established me on a broader, bigger 

 basis. First, my warehouse burned. 

 Later, another fire in the shipping room 

 caused me a loss of about $6000 worth 

 of bulbs, but I had an inexhaustible 

 stock of confidence and a good deal of 

 experience. Combined with the princi- 

 ple of square dealings, these factors are 

 responsible for the fact that I am 



Doing Business Now in 

 the Largest Plant of its 

 Kind in the World 



Five years ago I constructed a storage 

 warehouse with shipping facilities un- 

 like any other in my line 

 of business. 

 The b u i 1 d i n'g 

 has a cellar 

 with 11,700 

 cubic feet of 

 storage space, 

 besides -1680 square feet of floor space. Every- 

 thing is in-its place, and there is a place for every- 

 thing. Carefully arranged bins hold the properly 

 labelled roots of the hundreds of varieties which 

 I now grow every year. From the middle of 

 November, when we finish digging the bulbs, 

 until end of shipping season, the following 

 spring, this warehouse is the biggest beehive you 

 ever saw. 



Yearly Output of 38 Acre 

 Dahlia Factory Now 4 



Million Dahlia Clumps 



Please don't think I have lost my sentiment 

 about my flowers when I call my farms a 

 factory! To me, Dahlias are still and always 

 will be. objects of cheer and love. But when 

 you produce them by the millions, in scattered 

 about lots on a 107 acre farm, it becomes neces- 

 sary to employ methods of production not un- 

 like those in big factories. 



Happy and Busy the Year Around 



Who wouldn't be, with hundreds of different 

 "pets" in as many varieties, in many different 

 classes. It makes me happy to think that the 

 Dahlia has finally come into its own. It makes 

 me happy to know that, among my own, are 

 some of the finest the world has ever seen. 

 And, it keeps me busy to maintain the high stand- 

 ard of perfection to which I have raised hundreds 

 of popular kinds, not counting the everlasting 

 work it takes to watch my many new hybrids. 



Visit My Gardens During 



August and September 



You'll see a sight never to be forgotten. It'll cause you to 

 look upon Dahlias with different eyes ever after. My time is 

 yours on visitors day, and we can't see all the flowers on one 

 visit either. So 



Let Catalogue Visit You NOW 



It will afford you a chance to get posted on Dahlias, before 

 planting time knocks at the door. You can't afford to do 

 without some of my favorites in your 1919 garden. The joy 

 they'll bring will repay manyfold their small cost and little 

 labor of growing. 



J. K. Alexander, "The Dahlia King 3 



27-29 Central Street 



East Bridgewater, Massachusetts 





