J. R. HOPKINS 
Deerfield, Illinois 
JsReHOPKINS Le E. MAY 

Price List- 1945 
Our Third Annual Price List and Our 
Fifth Annual List of "Best" Varieties. 
This past season we grew 122 new verieties and gave another 
year of test to quite a list of those we were undecided about 
at the end of our 1943 growing year. This year the list of 
best varieties includes around 300 gladiolus as we give the 
best varieties in each of the top three National size classese 
In big shows the 500 class will be the most competitive with 
largest number of entries. The 400 class will have about half 
the number of entries in each color and the 300 class often 
has difficulty in filling all color classes, 
Florists definitely want all three sizes to fill their 
orders and so if you grow for exhibiting or for cut flowers, 
we must all pay more attention to the 400 and 300 classes, In 
the 500 class which is florets 55 inches and larger, 5 open 
is okey for show table. In 400 class-over 4} and including 5+ 
inches florets-7 to 9 florets is what we are aftere In 300 
class-over 3¢ and including 44 inch florets-we desire 9 to 12 
open for the show table. 
Last year we each, Monk May and myself, grew 478 varieties 
which included some 80 seedlings sent us for teste Of the 80 
seedlings about 15 were outstanding and are being introducede 
In our best list 46 new varieties made the list for the first 
time in 1943 BUT IN 1944, 90 NEW ONES MADE THE LIST. This 
means only one thing - and that is that this past season was 
the best ever for American hybridizers and more outstanding 
gladiolus were introduced and proven to be among the top glads 
in their color this year then ever before. American breeders 
are doing a simply marvelous jobe When the war is over and 
foreign varieties once more are sent over here, they will have 
a hard job competing with new American varieties - and, of 
course, by American varieties I mean the United States and 
Canadae. 
To our best knowledge no other growers try out so many of 
the new varieties as we do every year. Hopkins grows in clay - 
Monk May in sandy loam - so w have two soils to test in. Our 
ratings of new varieties do not always check, and in our rate 
ings in this folder, Hopkins ratings are printed first and then 

On left is Monk may, face washed, clean shirt, necktie 
and all dressed up like a Christmas tree, Un right is 
J.R.Hopkins - picture taken by photographer for Better 
Holmes & Gardens after digging in the fall. From some 
angles you can count five chins- at one time. 

GRACE 4STELLA 
ROMANY 
Monk May makes his comments as we did last year, 
We are making the best and most conscientious effort we are 
capable of to find out the best varieties in each color class- 
both for the show table and for the commercial grower = end 
try to issue our new variety report as soon as we can. No var= 
ieties - new or old = inexpensive or high priced = get any 
preferential treatment. All are planted, grown, watered, fer= 
tilized and every thing else exactly alike. Because we have 
so many new readers every year, we have to repeat that our 
ratings are 6 to 10 points lower than most ratingse New var= 
ieties are judged and rated the first year we see them = re= 
ported to you - then a few of each are grow again to check 
our discards to see if we were wronge We have discarded this 
year about}00 varieties and if you want to see this list you 
can do so by sending us a request for our discard list, plus 
a 5¢ stamp. Our fingers are crossed when we say it but so far 
we have made no serious mistakes - maybe two in three years- 
discarding around 300 varietiese 
Some of the varieties we offered last year are omitted from 
this year's list because we do not have the bulbs. Last year 
we gratefully acknowledge that we were swamped with orders and 
ran entirely out of bulbs of several varieties. But we filled 
our orders while the bulbs lasted and are deeply indebted to 
the hundreds of customers who bought from us. We want them all 
to be satisfied, and very much hope we will hear from anyone 
that was not entirely satisfiede 
Our 1945 list offers you some very beautiful glads and well 
over 100 of the finest new and old varieties in existences 
Over 25 vatioties every showman will want to grow are inoluded 
and in addition we are fortunate in being able to introduce 
19 new varieties - most of which are priced reasonably as most 
of them have been grown for years as seedlings. I used to com= 
plain to high heavens when catalogers would bring out too many 
new ones in one year - I suppose it was principally because I 
distrusted that they were all good and did not know which were 
the best. Of those introduced in our list every one is a splen= 
did gladiolus = every one is a potential blue ribbon winner 
and every one is a good one. It is too many to bring out in 
one year but we are proud of them all and believe future years 
will not find so many available. 
As our gladiolus becomes improved from year to year it be= 
comes increasingly difficult to find new ones that are genu- 
ine contributions to their color and size classese 
