breed out undesirable characters and give the world 
the perfect delphinium as some elaim. Talk is cheap; 
it is performance that counts. So, I bring you del- 
phiniums that have faults; but they have so many 
good points that you will overlook the bad ones. But 
if you must have perfect delphiniums, then you have 
come to the wrong place. 
And here is another thing for you to consider: my 
prices are high; my packets contain fewer seeds than 
the packets of other breeders and growers; further- 
more, my attitude toward my customers is too inde- 
pendent to suit most people. There are other growers 
of good repute who will furnish you with high quality 
and large quantity of seeds and plants, and who will 
follow the policy that the customer is always right. 
Not I! All this sounds as if I don’t care to sell my 
seeds; I do, only not to every Tom, Diek and Harry. 
I want only the kind of customer who realizes that 
while his money may buy my seeds, it cannot pay for 
them; that the breeder puts too much thought, loving 
care, planning, dreaming, too many heart-breaking 
disappointments, too many anxious moments, and too 
much of his very life into the work that produces 
those seeds. Such things cannot be paid for. They 
are the breeder’s gift to the gardening public. It 
will be a privilege to serve the customer who under- 
stands and appreciates this fact, to keep on serving 
him long after the sale is made, and to keep him 
satisfied regardless of cost. 
WHAT DO OTHERS SAY ? 
In former years I have published a great many 
excerpts from unsolicited letters written to me by 
satisfied customers. This vear, due to the fact that i 
vish to give space to cultural directions, only four 
excerpts are published here. 
Bexley, Kent, England, June 7, 1943 
The planis from your delphiniuwm seeds are the 
most magnificent and far in advance of any we have 
here.—Taylor Nurseries. 
Toronto, Canada, Oct. 19, 1948 
I consider the Lyondels the finest of all known 
sfrais; the colour, the substance and size being far 
superior to anything shown previously at the Canadian 
National Exhibition here. They also withstand our 
cold winters much better than all other strains.— 
Ernest P. Pege. 
Chicago. Ill., July 14, 19438 
One of your dark purple delphiniums grown by 
me was judged the best single spike in the American 
Delphinium Society’s show at Garfield Park Coin- 
servatory. I took 14 prizes in all, 11 of these unth 
delphiniums from your seeds.—E. P. Essley. 
Niagara Falls, N. Y., Jan. 2, 1944 
Last summer I had my first spike with five feet of 
‘lowers, raised from your seed. Was I proud!— 
Marshall Stewart. 
But let us not give all the credit to the Lyondels; 
the skill of these gentlemen had much to do with their 
success. 
