... Zoreword,.. 
Another season has come and gone, and, looking back at the season just closed does 
not leave any too pleasant memories: 1943 has been, without question, the least satis- 
factory season to date for me. 
No experienced grower ever expects a perfect season - those may happen once or 
twice in a very long lifetime - but he does hope to get at least a few breaks. This year Nature 
must have felt in a particularly malevolent mood, at least so far as our section was concerned, 
for she seemingly unleashed every baneful agency at her disposal. The spring was late, 
with cold, wet weather for weeks on end, with not even a peek at the sun for weeks, 
and this weather dragged on well into early summer. Not only was planting delayed by 
weeks, but the stuff that was planted took weeks longer to germinate than usually. We 
did have a few weeks of fine weather in July, but it did not last long, and there followed 
a period of weeks which was marked by virtually continuous high winds. August and 
September were unusually dry months, yet we never once sprayed but what we had a 
brief, but violent rainstorm that completely nullified any effect from the spraying. 
As was to be expected under the circumstances, the blooming of all varieties was 
delayed for weeks and weeks, and, when they finally did bloom, the high winds and 
fierce rain squalls raised havoc with them. While I had planned strongly on showing all 
of my varieties, as well as many seedlings, at the shows, only White Gold, which happens 
to be one of the very earliest of all glads, was ready for showing. 
In the glad game, as in any other, one has to be a good sport and take things, which 
he cannot control, as they come along - so here’s hoping that next season will more than 
make up for the past season’s disappointments. One thing is certain: it could not possibly 
be worse. 
O 
Owing to the very unfavorable season just closed, which made it impossible to 
properly appraise several seedlings still under trial, only one new introduction is offered 
for the 1944 season, one that has been under critical observation by several glad experts, 
as well as myself, and which has won their unreserved approval- as well as blue ribbons 
in the seedling classes at the major shows where it was entered in 1943. The color 
of this new introduction is unlike that of any glad now in circulation, a very rich, deep 
salmon. The name of the new introduction is Delilah and a full description will be found 
further on in this announcement. 
O 
All Scheer Gladiolus offered in this anouncement have been thoroughly tried and all 
have proven their quality by winning many awards at major shows throughout the United 
States and Canada. The descriptions in this announcement are just plain, accurate word 
pictures, based strictly upon fact. I have many letters from fans, saying that my des- 
criptions do not do justice to Scheer Glads: that may well be true since my soil is far 
from ideal and since my descriptions are based entirely upon my own observations and 
records. 
