a eee ere ee 
EARL MAY'S SPRING NURSERY. AND SEED NEWS 
LILAC TIME IN KANSAS 
MRS. MAY'S FRAGRANT 
FRENCH LILAC COLLECTION 
ORDER No. SN796 
Five Different, Distinct Colors 
1 CONGO. Reddish-purple. 1 PRES. GREVY. Clear sky- 


And that’s “beauty time” at the home of 
Margaret Kearney of Topeka, Kansas, who 




sent me this picture. This beautiful lilac 
bush was purchased from me a few years 
ago. Now, for you friends who would like 











h b ‘fil lil Fish. 1 MME. LEMOINE. Snow- blue. 
hite. 
ns Se: ue a a ee coe 1 BELLE de NANCY. Double 1 ROUEN LILAC. Lavender- 
yard I am offering you this special French eae See 
Lilac Collection of Mrs. May’s. & EXTRA SELECT 18-INCH $ 1°9 
SIZE LILACS, FOR ONLY.........- 
POSTPAID 

es *. j vo Se 






ONE OF THE FINEST 
A Great Tomato. . . Rutgers 
I introduced. Rutgers Tomato, over the radio, in a big way 
about four years ago. Many friends and customers are still 
writing me how well it has done for them. In my experience 
there has never been a tomato that has proven itself as pop- 
ular in such a short time. 
I have observed this great tomato from year to year grow- 
ing in my own trial gardens, and with the hundreds of fine 
OLD FRIENDS 
PHLOX COLLECTION 
ORDER No. $N222 
Friends, every year and for many years I have re- 
ceived letters saying, ‘Pick me out some of your 
best colors in various varieties of Phlox.”” So now I’m letters coming from those who have tried it, I know you will 
going to please everybody and give you all a chance like it. The fruits are bright scarlet in color, large, and very 
~ aurift 1 uniform—the only tomato I know of that mpens from the 
yutdoor grown 
eek % fe 7) St inside out, which means you get an\ evenly ripened fruit ali 
brilliant blooming phlox. I will guarantee you ruby- the way through, extra thick solid fizsh, fine for slicing an! 
red. orange, scarlet, bright salmon pink, salmon, pur- canning. Sturdy plants that produce just enough foliage to 
1} : ec bl h & d d P : They’ 2 P protect the fruits from sun-scalding. Rutgers will produce a 
pie, white, ue, ¢ erry -re an rose. eyre now big crop on thin soil. Thousands of you folks, I know,* will 
ready for you and the price is reasonable. 
agree with me by planting it again this year. I say it’s a great 
main crop tomato. If you haven’t been growing it, try it on 
For Only POSTPAID 
to buy 10 hard; 
. 1 noted 
¥, well rooted, 
my recommendation. Rutgers makes fine big crops and laste 
ing friends wherever it is grown. ORDER No. SN765. 
Extra big packet (over 900 seeds), 10¢; 12 oz. 25¢; 
oz. 40c; %4 lb. $1.25. Postpaid. 
A pound of Kentucky Blue Grass con- 
tains an average of 2 million 4 hundred 
thousand seeds. A pound of Red Top 
grass about 4 million one hundred thirty- 
five thousand seeds. 
Sterne 
231 pmest ~ its 
‘ yd er NO pike BIOS pele Yoral. the 
Bid oe Giodionren that 1 gives pis SU 
e A 
yke a ane colts adiol ut Lon 
4 v ae an oft gsieties yov vi compinse” 
0 er Ange ¢ it 
every ou cam og me sea will an a LBS 
made a colors Tantee gO Wo a ‘+ Bt As 
aaftet© a t gz yw s ge a ; bd fe ; Bi i 
an J S lee LE eee V 
et pil guLe Li 
cor OMY jose? "MY BIRTHDAY MONEY 
u 
ool BOUGHT THESE GLADIOLUS" 
A B 8 I want you friends to read this letter that I received from 
rantee pulb Ermest Steffen of Bronson, Iowa, who is pictured above with 
|] Gua ery + the Gladiolus he raised from bulbs purchased from me. Here 
in EV it is: 
“Dear Mr. May: 
I am writing you a letter and telling you what a wonderful 
Gladiolus patch I had last summer from your bulbs. Every- 
body thought they sure were fine. My mother took my pic- 
ture when they were in bloom and I have only one Glad m 
my hands in the picture. I am 10 years old and sure like 
flowers. I used my birthday money to get my start in Glad- 
iolus. My mother buys your garden seeds in your Sioux City 
Store. Yours truly, Ernest Steffen,” 
Friends, I think Ernest deserves praise for spending his birth- 
day money for flowers. If some of you would like to raise 
Gladiolus like Ernest’s, mail me your order today for thac 
outstanding Gladiolus offer above, left. 
DON'T FORGET 
Gladiolus should be planted about 4 inches apart and 
about 4 inches deep for the best results. They prefer a 
rather light, sandy loam soil, that should be deeply spaded, 
then well pulverized. 
NEVER TOO MANY 




























TA Fae 









I have yet to see the garden that has too many radishes. 
Make a planting every 10 days and enjoy them the season 
through. Here’s one variety for you. Early Bird for 5¢ a 
Pkt., or 10¢ an ounce, postpaid. Other varieties on page 31 
of my 1941 Catalog. 
According to the U. S. Weather~ Bureau, the world’s record 
rainfall occurred in the Philippine Islands in July, 1911, when 
46 inches of water fell in 24 hours and 88 inches within four 
days. The U. S. record was set at Taylor, Texas, in Septem- 
ber, 1927, where 23.11 inches of rain fell in 24 hours. 
= 
° 21st ANNIVERSARY ° SHENANDOAH, IOWA 



EARLY 
GIANT #8%anc 
SWEET PEAS 
ORDER No. 20 : 
They’re all beauties, but here I’ve picked out 
10 outstanding different colored varieties of the 
Spencer Sweet Peas and combined them into this — 
offer especially for you. . These produce large, — 
fragrant blooms and long stems. 10 big, full meas- — 
ured packets, including 1 each of Little Boy Blue, aes 
Shirley Temple, Snow White, Orange King, Bright aie 
Light, Sparkle, Gilda Gray, Annie ‘Laurie, Glori-- 
ous and Robin Hood. Think of it! POSTPAID. . 
Big Full 
al Measured Packets aon : : . 
10 isc 50c 


"IT TOOK 
A LADDER 
TO PICK "EM" 
That’s just what Mrs. Wm. 
Kussman of Seattle, Wash- 
ington, writes me. She said 
that these Sweet Peas she 
purchased from me grew 13 
ft. at the highest point. At 
the left is the picture of her- 
self which she sent me to 
prove her statement. She 
also said that she supplied 
all her neighbors and rela- 
tives, as well as herself, with 
bouquets of Sweet Peas all | 
summer. Now, that’s really 
something, isn’t it, folks? 



8” Pur, 
chas, 
this is eat from me. 
u 
F oppor- 
A PLAYGROUND 
OF ROSES 
This is my little friend, 
Glenna Lovig, age 9, of 
Villisca, Iowa, playmg with 
her dolls beside the Doro- 
thy Perkins rose which her 
mother, Mrs. Oscar Lovig, 
purchased from me. 
Glenna’s birthday is_ the 
same as mine—March 21st. 


Climbing Dorothy Perkins 
ROSE COLLECTION 
Here’s a great collection of Dorothy Perkins Roses that are in a 
class by, themselves. They are all very hardy, and, as you know, 
they bloom in clusters.’ It really isn’t uncommon to see 2, 3, or 
even 4 thousand blooms on a climbing Dorothy Perkins Rose after 
a few years’ growth. They will be your favorites, too, just as they 
are little Glenna Lovig’s (above). 
In a few years you'll thank me for 
making you this kind of an offer. 
. .. Your Choice, alike or assorted, 
of Red Dorothy Perkins, Pink 
Dorothy Perkins or White Doro- 
thy Perkins, for only 27¢ each, 3 
for 75c, or 
ORDER No. SN6 
6 * $1.29 
ALL POSTPAID 
see em mw re ee em we wens 

HAVE YOU READ YOUR COPY OF MY BIG 1941 NURSERY AND SEED CATALOG? 
Page 3 


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