8 
Hornberger’s Home and Garden Service 
subject to storage rot, it has very low resistance to scab conditions. Read our com¬ 
ments, under the title, “Storage rots.” 
In my article, “My Experimental Wcrk With Glads”, 1936 Yearbook, N.E.G.S., 
1 make this statement,—“Some fast propagators will increase from 10, 20 to 50 
times faster than a very slow propagator. For example, among well known fast 
propagators, it is not uncommon to find among your vigorous young bulbs, individuals 
that will have from 100 up to several hundred bulblets attached at digging time, 
while on the same grade of stock among a very slow propagator, you may find only 
a few bulblets. I know of some varieties in commerce where the increase has not 
averaged one bulblet per bulb. Such varieties must be grown under very special 
conditions to get even a small increase of new bulbs”.—End of quote. 
It follows that only irrigation growers can make a profit in the growing of new, 
high-priced varieties that are very slow propagators and poor do-ers under the ad¬ 
verse conditions that so often prevail where no irrigation is available. For that 
reason we urge all who wish to grow Glads in a commercial way for cut flowers or 
bulb production, and who must depend on the natural rainfall east of the Mississippi 
river, to study our new nomenclature and help us by suggesting new improvements. 
Send us your list of varieties you grow, use our system of rating, then tell us if you 
use irrigation or grow without irrigation. Also be sure to tell us the kind of soil and 
subsoil. We ask you to help us build up a reliable and dependable Progressive 
Nomenclature for the eastern non-irrigation growers, for you must realize by this 
time that much of the confusion and difference of opinions now so prevalent is largely 
aue to the radically different conditions of soil, climate and culture) that prevail in 
diverse parts of our country. We said last season, “Under present day specialization 
we have forgotten much of the good advice of our early pioneer horticulturists who 
always maintained that we should use stock that has been grown as nearly identical 
tc our conditions as possible. We all know that taking a plant out of its native 
environment and forcing it into a new and often adverse situation often results in 
much loss, often in stunting or very poor growth; we call it getting the plant accli¬ 
mated.” For a simple illustration we called your attention to a tomato or other plant 
i hat came up outside and the same variety grown in a greenhouse. I also told you 
that you must expect much disappointment when you purchase new varieties brought 
from the other side of the world where climate and other conditions are so radically 
different. I pointed out that of the scores of new, high priced varieties that have 
been imported from Australia, New Zealand and other faraway places, only a very 
few have really made good in our climate. A variety that produces 8 inch florets in 
Australia may only produce 5 inch florets in California and 4 inch florets in New 
York. The same will be true in growth and other traits. It is true some will make 
good, but not all or not a very large percent of all that are offered. I again quote 
you the opinions of others by quoting from the same Empire State Glad. Society Bul¬ 
letin, November issue; we quote pp. 4—“While we are talking about a Glad from 
down under, it is a good place here to state that for some reason, climatic or other¬ 
wise, many of us are suffering severe disappointments in our Glads from Australia 
and New Zealand. They have not lived up to promise so far.—End of quote. Note: 
The writer is a noted Glad fan. And again on page 11, same Bulletin, same issue, we 
quote, Salmon Pink Varieties. “There are a number in this class from down under¬ 
neath (Here several varieties are mentioned—FCH) reputed to be excellent, but 
which will need adjustment to our climate and soil to live up to their reputations.”— 
End of Bulletin quote. 
SUMMARY: The conditions of twenty years ago were merely a so called drop 
in the bucket, as compared with the gladiolus situation today. We now face a veritable 
avalanche of new varieties, their sponsors clamoring for attention. The number of 
hybridists, new and old, are legion. All who are familiar with the industry in all its 
various phases, realize that but few of these glads will ever become widely dissemi¬ 
nated; some will prove worthless, some can only be grown in a limited area, an 
increasing large number can only be grown under special irrigation culture to get a 
worth while increase, these varieties soon peter out in a few years when grown undei 
general average field culture. But there will be many fine varieties, that will perform 
well under all methods of culture, That will not find their place in the sun, not be¬ 
cause they are unworthy, but simply because the originator is not a highly advertised 
originator. If we had some kind of a growers testing society, with a general “utility 
rating system”, something on the order I will outline below, it would give every 
worthy variety, no matter who the originator, an equal chance to honest publicity. 
Then out of this vast multitude of new varieties we could pick the best, for each par¬ 
ticular purpose. There are now so many to select from, that there is no logical reason 
to continue to pay fabulous prices for new varieties that must “peter out” in a few 
years because they will not propagate, under average growing conditions. 
