©elpfnmums 
OF THE 
Lyondel Gardens 
TO MY OLD CUSTOMERS 
(This message does not apply to my new or prospective customers) 
Now that we have come to know and to trust each other, I am going to 
show my appreciation of your continued support by adopting a new policy 
towards you. Hereafter if you have failure with my seeds, REGARDLESS OF 
ANY CAUSE, I shall be glad to duplicate your order free of charge. I know 
that this friendly gesture on my part will not be abused by you. Furthermore, 
should you need aid in solving some of your garden problems, I shall be happy 
to give you what assistance I can, or secure it for you in case I find myself 
unequal to the task. Just remember this one thing: MY INTEREST IN YOU 
DOES NOT END AFTER THE SALE IS MADE. 
TO MY PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS 
Other growers and breeders are eager to have as many customers as 
possible; I am not. Even at the height of depression the seeds of the Lyondel 
Gardens were completely sold out before they were harvested. Since I can 
devote only my spare time to breeding activities and sell nothing but - hand 
pollinated seeds, my supply is very limited. Consequently I am particular about 
my customers. If you are a chronic kicker and fault finder, you are not wanted; 
if you are a poor sport and cannot take your losses or gains with the same 
degree of grace, you are urged to take your money elsewhere; if you think 
that you know all about delphiniums, or if you don’t know anything about them, 
you are not welcome into the circle of Lyondel family; if you don’t have faith 
in my integrity and don’t believe that I share my best with my customers, new 
or old, you are not the type of customer I want; if you approach the Lyondels 
with a chip on your shoulders, please stay away. 
After reading the foregoing you will want to know what assurance I give 
you of getting your money’s worth. My answer is “none.” I make no gurantee 
whatever; you take the risk and I take your money. You may not obtain a 
single seedling from a packet of my seed; or not one of my seedlings may be 
worth keeping. You have no recourse; I am under no obligation to refund 
your money or to replace your order. Only under these conditions must you 
buy seeds or seedlings from me. 
Having read this far you should stop and throw this circular away. But 
if you are venturesome, read on. 
Most growers claim to have the world’s best delphiniums. If you expect 
to find such a claim here, you are going to be disappointed. Not having seen 
all the delphiniums in the world, all I can tell you is that mine are not even 
among the best. This is a poor salesmanship, isn't it? But it will save you 
and me a lot of headaches. 
I deal exclusively in hybrid seeds of my own production. No one can 
fortell the behavior of any hybrid seed. I can say only this: my seed and 
pollen parents are true to description; they are carefully and rigidly selected 
and crossed according to methods developed by science. After that nature 
takes its course. All I can do is to hope for the best. 
Two dollars and fifty cents is a lot of money to pay for a packet of seeds 
concerning which I can give you no assurance whatever. But you should; 
know how I produce my seeds. Delphinium breeding season with me extends 
from June to September. During that time I must go over all my seed parents 
to remove the anthers from each individual flower and to keep the spikes 
covered with bags in order to prevent insect pollination. Since only a few 
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