FOREWORD 
We get a big ‘‘kick’’ out of thumbing through 
catalogues and bulletins for Variety Comments. Some- 
times our own selections are verified while at others 
we shudder and almost explode in disagreement. Real- 
izing that variation in soils, climate and planting great- 
ly affect performance of Gladiolus varieties, we do not 
mention either those with which we are unfamiliar or 
those which for the time at least do not warrant higher 
praise. 
We repeat our faith in the Michigan Gladiolus So- 
ciety Trial Garden at East Lansing and the other mem- 
bers of the National Trial Gardens group. After two 
years of operation in which flaws have been corrected, 
the years ahead promise great things for this and other 
Trial Gardens which weed out unworthy varieties and 
give praise where praise is due. 
Never An II] Wind 
Adverse weather conditions irritate most of us but 
perhaps they help us -to select varieties which can 
really ‘‘take it’’ in the field. 
The variety which most impressed us this year as 
it is grown unpampered in the field without irriga- 
tion and without huge feedings of fertilizer was Roger 
Arnett’s ‘““WHITE CHALLENGE.’’ Although he missed 
having top bloom for Boston, Binghampton, Cleveland, 
Ann Arbor, or Marinette, Roger exhibited three Grand 
Champions at large Michigan Regional Shows at East 
Lansing, Northeast Michigan Glad Show at Bay City, 
and Northwest Michigan Gladiolus Growers Show at 
Mesick. In addition to all these honors, WHITE CHAL- 
LENGE was also Reserve Champion to another of Rog- 
er’s unnamed seedlings at Coloma. In winning all of 
these honors WHITE CHALLENGE defeated magnifi- 
cent spikes of Leading Lady, Prosperity, Algonquin, Cor- 
ona, Vista Bonita, and Grand Opening..... 
Because of the ease of culture by average growing 
methods from sizes one to four, we predict that as 
soon as stock is more widely distributed WHITE CHAL- 
LENGE will replace Leading Lady as a leading show 
winner. 
We might add that WHITE CHALLENGE also 
shared first place honors at the Michigan Trial Gar- 
den (1947) with White Christmas and White Goddess. 
The latter two are by Carl Fischer and Winton Roberts. 
Favorite Varieties According to Color: 
WHITE: WHITE MAGIC, the Creamy WHITE GOD- 
DESS, and WHITE CHRISTMAS. Don’t forget SIL- 
VER WINGS and FAIR ANGEL. 
WHITE WITH MARKS: We think we've made our- 
selves clear about WHITE CHALLENGE. We still 
grow MARGARET BEATON in quantity. 
CREAM: LAKE PLACID in the field was more uni- 
form in spike than the beautiful LEADING LADY 
which it followed in blooming season. Few varie- 
ties can equal it in the prolific production of bulb- 
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