6 
A BLUE BOOK OF RARE GLADS 
for an example of what flowers might do for us. In England 
there are seldom found homes without gardens and a profus¬ 
ion of all kinds of flowers. Folks buy cut posies from street 
pedlars, nosegays from the flower girls in the hotels, and as 
a result, one feels ill dressed in England if he doesn’t wear 
a buttonhole blossom. The florist trade there is stimulated by 
this love, rather than held back by garden competition. 
Perhaps we, as a nation, young, virile and full of advance¬ 
ment ideas, have overlooked real culture, the actual beauty 
and pleasuie of growing flowers, and naturally g ads, for a 
chief enjoyment plan. Rather, many of us plant them out 
near the street so our friends and neighbors can see them—• 
thus making use of them as a decorative proposition. When 
we do begin to love flowers for their beauty and not for the 
show they make, then and only then, will we have a ready 
market for the millions of bulbs grown. 
Probably we have no one to blame for this condition but 
ourselves. Many, yes I will say, the majority of gladiolus in¬ 
troduced in former years has been developed without a 
thought except for size and color, with an eye for commercial 
uses. If more attention had been paid to actual beauty, yes 
the delicacy that comes with clear, pastel shades, fine mon¬ 
otone colors and clear unblemished satiny shades, then I feel 
that we would have been farther along our route. 
Thus we might as well face the truth with glads. Evidenc¬ 
ing facts are that such varieties as Douglas, Brinceps, Halley, 
etc., are falling by the wayside, while such varieties as Duna, 
Maid of Orleans, Picardy, Sweetheart, Minuet, etc., are rapid¬ 
ly coming to the front in heavier demand. There is absolutely 
no comparison between a fine basket of Coquette, Banner 
Bright, or Sweetheart and baskets of Giant Nymph, Shaylor, 
or Helga. In a moment’s glance a good florist will give the 
ribbons to the former varieties. There is in the mind of the 
author no more beautiful variety in existence than the small 
S.veetheart, although it is given a heavy bid for competition 
by such varieties as Rapture, Symphony, Prairie Gold, 
Serenade, and Christabel. 
And so we must conclude that there is something radically 
needed. Either we are to educate the public to beauty in glads 
