Spontaneous Expressions of Opinion 
Gentlemen: I just returned from my California inspec¬ 
tion trip and going over my notes I find the following: 
"Bodger's Double Gleam Hybrids and Scarlet Gleam 
Nasturtium are without a doubt among the most out¬ 
standing novelties of the year." 
Wishing you success for the great amount of care, 
thought and labor you have put on to these items, I am 
Sincerely yours, 
CARL CROPP, 
Vaughan's Seed Store 
Gentlemen: I have made two trips to your seed farms, 
principally in order to see your new Gleam Hybrid Nas¬ 
turtiums. Having just returned from my second trip I 
feel compelled to write you this note of congratulation. 
If there is anything wrong with either the Scarlet Gleam 
or the Gleam Hybrids, I have been unable to find it. 
Coming over the grade from Santa Maria, your field 
of Scarlet Gleam fairly lit up the Valley with a blaze of 
red. It looked for all the world like a huge fiery carpet 
spread at the foot of the mountain. At closer range I was 
honestly surprised to see them so double and true to 
color. The Gleam Hybrids are even more remarkable. 
While I was prepared to make some allowance for 
singles in the mixture, they were mighty hard to find. I 
judge that as I saw them they ran about 98% double 
and I saw no evidence of rogueing. Walking just six 
steps down one row I picked fifteen distinct shades, all 
good. 
In a new strain such a high degree of perfection de¬ 
notes a great deal of hard work and ability on the part 
of your organization or else a much greater amount of 
luck than most humans fall heir to. However, there they 
are, and Bodger Seeds, Ltd. is to be highly compli¬ 
mented on this outstanding achievement. 
Wishing you continued success, I remain 
Yours very truly, 
GERMAIN SEED & PLANT CO. 
A. J. W. Pieters, 
Manager, Flower Seed Dept. 
Gentlemen: After an inspection of your Gleam Nas¬ 
turtiums at Lompoc, I cannot help but congratulate you 
on their excellence and particularly on the complete 
array of choice colors in your Bodger Gleam Hybrids. 
I feel very clearly that your strain is the most excellent 
one and shall depend upon it exclusively for my supply. 
Wishing you continued success with the very prom¬ 
ising selections of this class that you have coming on. 
Very respectfully 
GEO. J. BALL 
Geo. J. Ball, Inc. 
Gentlemen: On the eve of my departure, as I review 
the many beautiful things I have seen blooming in Cali¬ 
fornia, to my mind the most outstanding is the large 
acreage of your Scarlet Gleam and Glorious Gleam 
Hybrid Nasturtiums; the great variety of color and very 
high percentage of double blooms in the hybrids being 
particularly outstanding. 
With kindest regards and very best wishes. 
Very truly yours, 
HENRY A. DREER 
Per George W. Parsons. 
Gentlemen: With regard to Golden Gleam, I think the 
Hybrids are going to be even a better thing than the 
Golden Gleam itself, and I certainly congratulate you on 
getting hold of this plant. We have got a most lovely 
range of colors in our hybrids and such a perfect shape, 
and long stems, making a very beautiful cut flower. I 
wish you could have seen them as they are now. 
Yours sincerely, 
SUTTON & SONS, LTD. 
C. S. Balfour. 
My dear Mr. Bodger: I feel constrained to write you a 
letter indicating my appreciation of my delightful visit 
to your Lompoc Seed Farm upon August 10th. I feel 
greatly indebted to your kindness in allowing me not 
only to inspect the farm but also giving up so much of 
your time which enabled us to make quite a thorough 
inspection of all the growing crops. 
Noticeable in the wealth of color were your Golden 
Gleam Nasturtiums which are now fixed and standard¬ 
ized and it was noticeable by reason of the healthy con¬ 
dition of the stock and abundancy of seed. For spectac¬ 
ular effect, however, nothing can surpass your planting 
of Scarlet Gleam. The vividness of its coloring, uni¬ 
formity of growth and absence of any tendency to run, 
seem to me to make this the most ideal plant. I predict 
for it an equal or greater popularity than the Golden 
Gleam. But too little attention it seems to me, is paid to 
your hybrid Nasturtiums. The appearance of your large 
field was a delight to the eye. The very ground seemed 
to be in bloom and a most casual inspection developed 
such a wonderful range of markings and some of such 
exquisite beauty that I am firmly convinced a selection 
from future segregations will enable you to put upon the 
market nasturtiums that will surpass in beauty either 
Golden Gleam or Scarlet Gleam and be a revelation to 
the flower lovers of the world and portends, of course, 
the elimination of the old stock nasturtium entirely. 
Passing from the nasturtiums, the asters were quite 
prominent in quantity and diverse in form and, in size 
and beauty surpassed any asters I have ever seen. It 
is very evident that the aster "Los Angeles" is going to 
break into other colors which will have all the charm 
and grace of "Los Angeles" and give an added variety 
to the strain.... 
Without enumerating all of the plants that we exam¬ 
ined let me congratulate you upon your location. From 
a long residence in Southern California and an interest 
in plant life I consider you have all of the qualifications 
necessary to make a perfect seed producing plant. You 
have the soil, but more than that, you have just the right 
degree of moisture in the atmosphere to favor strong, 
vigorous growth of plants and with your absence of 
winds and moisture, and in their place the warm, invig¬ 
orating sunshine, that your harvest will be of seed of 
the highest germinative power. . . . 
Very sincerely, 
H. W. O'MELVENY 
NOTE—Mr. H. W. O'Melveny, a friend of long standing, has 
honored us by a visit to our flower fields every season over a 
period of many years. He is known in his own country and 
abroad as an enthusiastic horticulturist, and may well be called 
California's dean of amateur horticulture. 
Dartford Press, printers, los angeles 
