WHAT SORT OF A CUSS IS THIS BREEDER OF LYONDELS? 
Some CUSTOMERS who meet me for the first time are surprised not to find 
a choleric old man who bites candy and spits lemon juice, but one who is full 
of life and laughter, is easy to meet and easier to get along with. I have been 
called the world’s biggest crab and of showing too much of a “public be 
damned” attitude. I insist that only a fool or a very superior person can show 
such an attitude; I am neither. The world of ours is overrun with fools, but 
the superior man is yet to be born. All men have clay in more places than their 
heels, and even the greatest of men rattle some skeletons in the hidden re¬ 
cesses of their souls. An intriguing mixture of superior and inferior traits are 
all men, only some direct their superiority into becoming great poets, while 
others go for ditch digging. We could get along without poets but a good ditch 
digger is a vital necessity. A good poet is usually a very inferior pugilist, and 
a good ditch digger is a very poor manicurist. So, all of us are superior in some 
things and inferior in others, the accident of birth, inheritance and oppor¬ 
tunities notwithstanding. Therefore I deny that I have ever damned the pub¬ 
lic. In my dealings with customers I come in contact with all sorts of persons, 
some of them very trying on any man’s blood pressure. If warning away the 
potential trouble makers and undesirables is showing a “public be damned” 
attitude, then I am guilty. I don’t want to sell seeds to chronic kickers, bar¬ 
gain hunters, self-styled delphinium experts, and careless gardeners. As I can 
sell all the seeds I produce, I am very particular about those who buy seeds 
from me. I have dropped many names from my mailing list, but I highly value 
those I retain. Wealthy and poor, great or humble are treated by me with the 
same degree of friendliness. I never let a customer down, and no matter how 
many times he fails with my seeds, I will cheerfully make replacements free 
of charge until he is satisfied. All I ask of him is be fair with me., Some won¬ 
der how I can afford such a thing; but I would rather have one satisfied and 
steady customer than a score of transients. One dissatisfied customer can do 
more harm than a dozen satisfied customers can repair. I realize that even the 
best of gardeners may have occasional failures: if these happen with my seeds 
some of the good will is bound to enter under a shadow. Hence my offer to re¬ 
place. However this is not an obligation, nor a part of the sale contract be¬ 
tween you and me. Your $2.50 buys only one packet of seeds and no guarantee 
whatever. My offer to make replacements is just a friendly gesture and may 
be withdrawn from those who rub me the wrong way. 
THE MONTH OF AUGUST AND YOU 
If THE MONTH OF AUGUST happens to be warm and dry, I will get from 
you more than my share of cussing because more of you will fail with my 
seeds; if cool and moist, my ears will not burn so much, but burn they will 
no matter how viable my seeds or how perfect the season might be because 
there will always be those who cannot sprout anything, not even a pair of wings 
in heaven. 
Next to air, water is the cheapest thing the gardener has; next to high 
class seeds and plants, fertilizers are the most expensive things he must buy, 
yet he will apply fertilizers generously, and water sparingly. Many gardeners 
know how to spell the scientific names of their flowers, but they don’t know 
how to water their parched plants. They think that to water the surface is to 
save the interior, whereas in reality they must water the interior to save the 
surface. Delphinium seeds must have moist and cool seedbed; if you wish to 
succeed with them, keep the sun out of your seedbed and the water in. 
SOWING DIRECTIONS 
TThE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS, if faithfully followed, should bring you 
success with delphinium seeds; use seed flats instead of cold frame; fill them 
with a mixture of 2 parts of top soil and 1 part each of sand and peat moss. 
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