Finest Dahlias 
DAHLIA MAYOR FRANK OTIS 
KATHLEEN OSBOURNE. C. An ex¬ 
ceptionally fine new variety, reddish 
orange with yellow at the base of the 
petals. Good stems. Large size and 
a “Best Keeper.” Stock limited. $1.50 
KENTUCKY. F. D. A sport of Jersey’s 
Beauty, retaining the same shape and 
keeping qualities. Light salmon orange, 
shading to grenadine pink. One of the 
“Best Keepers”.50c 
LAVENDER LASS (Salbach 1936). F. D. 
Previously called “Lavender Lady.” A 
beautiful formal decorative of very 
large size, elegance of form and color¬ 
ing, with good growing habits. Won 
first as best two-year-old seedling at 
the California Flower Festival, 1934. 
Color clear delicate lavender, shading 
deeper at tips of petals. A good doer 
everywhere, as is evidenced by a note 
from one of our Texas customers, who 
states “Lavender Lady (Lass) is beau¬ 
tiful beyond description.” A “Best 
Keeper” .75c 
LORD OF AUTUMN. I. D. Deepest of 
all the yellows, and with tremendous¬ 
ly large blooms, this variety has been 
a sensation throughout the East. Bet¬ 
ter than ever this year — probably be¬ 
cause our stock has not been green 
planted since our original purchase. A 
“Best Keeper” and fine for landscap¬ 
ing. Now available at .$1.50 
MALIBU SUNSET. I. D. A very vivid 
orange that can be grown to huge dia¬ 
meter — one of the most sensational 
dahlias of all. Most outstanding. $2.50 
MANDALAY. I. D. An outstanding 
yellow that we class with Lord of 
Autumn and Miss Glory as one of the 
three “top” yellows. Completely over¬ 
looked, as it was not in bloom for the 
California Dahlia Society Show the 
year of introduction — hence an in¬ 
ferior dahlia by the same grower won 
the prizes and the spotlight.$4.00 
MARGRACE. I. D. Another very large 
dahlia, a good doer everywhere, and in 
every way. Very vivid, being rich red, 
suffused yellow at the very tip. A 
real champion among champions. A 
“Best Keeper” .$1.50 
MAYOR FRANK OTIS (Salbach-Johns 
1939). 1. D. Once in years a fine big, 
all-around dahlia like Jane Cowl ap¬ 
pears; once in years a new giant, cap¬ 
able of setting a new standard for size 
(like Mrs. Geo. Le Boutillier) comes 
into commerce. But it is little short 
of a miracle when a new and bigger 
giant combines all of the outstanding 
qualities of both Jane Cowl and Mrs. 
Le Boutillier. Yet the sensational new 
variety, Mayor Frank Otis does that, 
and more. Little wonder that it car¬ 
ried away prize after prize and honor 
roll ranking after honor roll ranking. 
Perhaps the best demonstration of the 
sensational qualities of Mayor Frank 
Otis is shown by the statement of a 
Portland grower, who remarked, after 
seeing Air-Expressed blooms: “The 
other contestants (for American Home 
Achievement Medal) might as well 
withdraw!” 
Description Follows 
SIZE — Possibilities are unlimited. 
It is a dahlia that can consistently win 
“largest bloom” on the strength of its 
tremendous diameter alone, but actual¬ 
ly its great depth is an even greater 
attribute than its huge diameter. The 
largest recorded bloom of Mayor Frank 
Otis was over seventeen inches in 
diameter, and just under ten inches 
deep. Throughout the season, Mayor 
Frank Otis gives blooms that are 
twelve, thirteen, and fourteen inches 
in diameter, and six, seven and eight 
inches in depth. The blossom pictured 
was a fraction of an inch under four¬ 
teen inches in diameter and was seven 
inches deep. Mayor Frank Otis was 
three times winner as largest flower at 
the Alameda Dahlia Society Show, 
twice “largest” at the California Dahlia 
Society Show, and an Air-Expressed 
bloom took that honor at the last Port¬ 
land Dahlia Society Show. 
FORM — Most attractive, twisted 
petals, as pictured. 
HABIT — Unexcelled. Growth vig¬ 
orous, stems strong and straight. Foli¬ 
age attractive. 
COLOR — Entitled to a top-notch 
position on the basis of color, as it is 
simply beautiful. Soft, rich golden 
honey yellow with just a touch of cop¬ 
pery shading. 
KEEPING QUALITY — Unques¬ 
tionably the best keeper of all the 
giants. Petals like leather, able to 
withstand roughest usage and keeps 
better than even the small dahlias. 
Typical is the fact that three blooms 
Air-Expressed to the American Dahlia 
Society Show (across the entire con¬ 
tinent) arrived in good condition al¬ 
though shipped dry. That meant ap¬ 
proximately twenty-four hours out of 
water. These won a Silver Medal in 
New York, while blooms Air-Expressed 
to Portland won the American Home 
Achievement Medal as well as largest 
flower in the show. Again, at Cincin¬ 
nati, Mayor Frank Otis demonstrated 
its ability to last and to withstand 
rough handling, as two blooms Air- 
Expressed to the O. V. D. A. Show 
brought the following report: “They 
had evidently bumped around a good 
deal in the box and when they arrived 
they looked exactly like two big mops. 
I carefully cut the stems and put them 
MAYOR FRANK OTIS 
Side View 
in ice water and placed them under 
one of the tables. The Hall was air¬ 
cooled. After about five or six hours 
I took them out and they had both re¬ 
covered completely.” If picked at the 
proper age, Mayor Frank Otis never 
needs to be replaced at a two- or three- 
day show — an achievement that no 
other giant dahlia we know of can 
equal. 
STOCK — All our tubers are from 
unforced, field-grown plants, and the 
variety has never been placed on the 
propagating bench. 
PRIZES — Six “largest flower” 
awards, see above. American Home 
Achievement Medal at Portland Dahlia 
Society Show, Sunset Magazine 
Achievement Medal at Dahlia Society 
of California Show, Silver Medal at 
American Dahlia Society Show, New 
York. On the following honor rolls: 
Flower Grower, House Beautiful. 
GENERAL — The dahlia Mayor 
Frank Otis was raised by Tom Johns, 
an amateur of Alameda, California, 
and is being introduced exclusively by 
ourselves. We regard it as easily the 
finest new dahlia in years, barring 
none. 
We do not advise green plants, but 
list them for May delivery (in excep¬ 
tion to our “no plant” rule), at half 
the tuber price. Tubers ....each, $25.00 
MRS. GEORGE LE BOUTILLIER. F. D. 
One of the most sensational new dah¬ 
lias we have grown in years. Like 
Eagle Rock Fantasy, and Sanhican’s 
Cameo, it grows naturally to simply 
huge proportions. In fact, we are in¬ 
clined to believe that Mrs. Le Boutillier 
will grow even larger than the other 
two, for we have had twelve inch 
blooms without disbudding. Bright, 
yet very rich, velvety red. A real 
standout, sensational in the garden, 
and due for continued championships 
in the show room for many years 
to come .$1.00 
Tage Twenty-one 
