Gladiolus Bulbs. 
Our trade in bulbs is mostly wholesale, but for the accommodation of our plant 
customers we try to have a few to sell at retail every year. 
Our XX stock is even finer than ever before. We believe that it is the best mixture 
in the country, and have received letters from good judges testifying that they hold 
the same opinion. 
Blooming bulbs, by express, not prepaid, 20 cents per 12, $1.00 per 100. By mail, 
5 cents per 12 or 40 cents per 100 higher. 
Choice Named Varieties. 
America. — One of the most beautiful of all the gladiolus family. The flowers are 
large, and their arrangement on the stem is perfect. The color is a soft, delicate pink 
without markings. Very popular and desirable. 
Early Amethyst. — This is a variation of the blue strain brought out a few years 
ago. Its color is a blending of violet and amethyst, and on the lower petal of each 
flower is a peculiar marking shaped like a spear head, yellow in color and contrasting 
finely with the blue and purple of the blossom. This variety grows very tall, and 
the stem is slender and graceful. 
Gertrude. — A luxuriant grower, making a stem which is both tall and stout. The 
flowers are bright rose pink, with blotches of brilliant crimson or cherry in the throat. 
These markings appear on all the petals, making the blossoms very showy and .-it - 
tractive. 
Princeps. — This splendid variety has been selling at high prices for several years, 
and shows no signs of becoming cheap, though we are offering it at a lower price 
than any other catalog we have seen. The flowers of Princeps are very large, especial- 
ly in width — in color the richest and most glowing red, and as lustrous as satin. In 
contrast with this the throat is pure white, making a beautiful and dazzling combi- 
nation. America - - - 75 cents per 12. 
Early Amethyst, 50 " " 12, $2.50 per 100. 
Gertrude,- - - |1.00 " " 12, 5.00 per 100. 
Princeps, - - - 1.00 " 12. 
"thoroughbred" Plants. 
As long as certain fallacies connected with our line of business continue to be 
promulgated as scientific truth, we must enter our protest whenever an opportunity 
offers. This time we have a few words to say about "thoroughbred" strawberry 
plants. The root of the word "thoroughbred" is "breed," of which "bred" is a de- 
rived form, and "thoroughbred" a compound derivative. "Breed" may be used in 
either of two senses, — "to procreate" or "to bring up." "Thoroughbred" applies to 
the former, and means "bred from the best," that is, produced by using the best as 
parents. This involves the laws of heredity, and it is along this line that the American 
Breeders' Association is working. Its efforts are directed to the improvement of 
plants and animals by selecting the best for seed or for procreative purposes, but 
growing strawberry plants from runners is an entirely different line of work, and there 
can be no comparison between the two. The plant which produces other plants by 
runners does not breed them, and is in no sense their mother. They are not its des- 
cendants, but are simply parts or extensions of the original plant, and possess exactly 
the same characteristics. These may be varied temporarily by environment, — by 
situation, soil, culture, food, moisture, and so on, but improvement in the size of 
plant or fruit, productiveness, or other desirable points, induced by better conditions 
and peculiar management, can not be "fixed," or made permanent. The variety is 
still the same, and will remain so as long as it exists. In view of the facts stated, we 
respectfully assert that "thoroughbred" is not a suitable adjective to apply to plants 
grown from other plants by runners, cuttings, buds or any other mode of increase 
that makes them merely parts or extensions of the original plants. There is only one 
-way of obtaining a product which may correctly be termed "thoroughbred," and that 
is by the proper use of seed according to the laws of heredity. 
