: Foreword : 
It is with great pleasure that I am presenting* you, the 
lovers of that great flower, the gladiolus, with my yearly cat¬ 
alogue, in which I hope you will find information and offers 
that will encourage and induce you to become one of the 
hundreds of delighted customers we now have on our mailing- 
lists. It is not proper for me to state here as to the quality of 
my offers, except that it is the best we can grow, and I would 
ask no better if I were ordering from another firm. We be¬ 
lieve that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and of 
course, we unhesitatingly offer to refund your remittance for 
any stock which you purchase that you are displeased with 
when delivered. We guarantee all stock to be true to name, 
free of disease, and absolutely clean of tlirip when delivered 
to you. What more can we offer? 
This year for the 1935-80 season I am making my first 
offering of my own seedlings. For several years past I have 
as manager of the Hillside Gardens at St. Marys, Ohio, offer¬ 
ed the originations of the Rev. J. A. Christ, whose originations 
of Blue Admiral, Wings of Joy, Rose Lady, Royal Omar, St. 
Laurence, and several others, have won fame and merit for 
themselves throughout the world, their lack of publicity being 
due to the utmost scarcity of the stock now in commerce. 
Growers write me repeatedly for stocks to which I can only 
answer: Supply limited. 
As I said, I am now conducting my own bulb business, 
being located at present at Arlington, Ohio, a few miles south 
of Findlay, Ohio. We expect a change of location in the near 
future, however. 
With many years of experience in growing probably as 
large a collection of foreign, local and nationally known vari¬ 
eties as we have done in these years and with a large amount 
of seedlings to test each year and ideal conditions under which 
to test them, we have no hesitancy in recommending the new 
introductions listed herein and described in full. I am also 
introducing the splendid new origination of a close friend and 
fellow grower who also realizes the worth of a new and tested 
seedling. Explanation of this introduction will be found with 
the offering of PURE GOLD, listed in these pages. 
I also wish at this time to announce, with this foreword, 
the origin and beginning of a new monthly publication of 
which I have charge. Detailed information on this matter 
will be found in the last pages of this book and we suggest 
that, for your own benefit, we hear from you as to your opin¬ 
ion on the offer made. 
