‘of the new expensive varieties are 
definitely inferior to older varieties 
of the same color, and have been 
placed on the market only because 
they were somebody’s baby or be- 
cause the introducer was unacquaint- 
ed with the fine varieties already on 
the market. As proof of the above, 
check the winnings of Crinkles, origi- 
nated by Kundred and introduced in 
1916; Minuet 1922, still mighty hard 
‘to beat; Mother Machree 1927, still 
‘winning plenty of prizes. There is 
a long list that would be longer if 
‘we were not so prone to discard the 
‘old in favor of the new. This does 
not mean that there are no good new 
glads, but merely that all new ones 
are not necessarily the best. Where 
competent judges are used, the ability 
to win is a very good criterion. 
The National Classification Com- 
mittee size and color class number, 
as used and recognized by most Gladi- 
olus Societies in the U. S. and Canada, 
follows the date of introduction. 
In the shows, varieties compete in 
these color and size classes. Under 
this classification the 100 series in- 
cludes the tiny miniatures with flor- 
ets under 2% inches in diameter. 
The 200 series is for small glads with 
florets 21% to 31%4 inches in diameter. 
The 300 class is for medium sized 
glads with florets of 344 to 414 inches. 
The 400 class is for large glads with 
florets of 444 but under 514 inches 
and the 500 class is for giants with 
florets 54% inches and over in diam- 
eter. The last two figures of this 
number indicate the color grous to 
which the variety belongs. Those 
ending in even numbers have pure 
self colors or blend to lighter throats 
and those ending in odd numbers are 
marked with a deeper or contrasting 
shade. These figures are based on 
average growth under good culture. 
00-09 Pure white to cream. 
10-14 Light to deep yellow. 
16-19 Light to deep buff. 
20-29 Light to deep orange. 
30-35 Light to deep salmon. 
36-39 Shades of scarlet. 
40-49 Light to deep pink. 
50-59 Light red to black red. 
60-65 Light to deep rose. 
66-69 Lavender shades. 
70-75 Purple shades. 
76-79 Light to deep violet. 
80-89 Smoky shades. 
90-99 Any other color: greys, 
browns, greens, etc. 
Most bulb growers supplying the 
retail trade use three bulb sizes. 
Large bulbs (indicated by Lge. in this 
catalog) are sorted so that the mini- 
mum is 114 inches in diameter; how- 
ever, most are much larger. It usu- 
ally takes two years to grow a bulb 
to this size from a bulblet, altho quite 
a large percentage of certain varie- 
ties under good culture will attain 
this size the first year. Bulbs three 
years old or over are no longer con- 
sidered young bulbs. Medium (Med.) 
sized bulbs or yearlings as they are 
called in Australia and New Zealand, 
measure 34 to 114 inches in diameter. 
This size often makes almost as good 
bloom as the larger size but usually 
takes longer to bloom. Small bulbs 
(Sml.) or planting stock, are those 
measuring less than %4 of an inch in 
diameter. While this size often gives 
a fairly large percentage of bloom 
in certain varieties, they are usually 
much later, smaller and often not 
quite up to par in color. Ruffled 
varieties often lack this quality in 
blooms from small bulbs. The ad- 
vantages of buying medium or small 
size bulbs are in the saving on the 
price as they usually sell for 25% to 
75% less than large bulbs; then the 
smaller sizes usually produce more 
bulblets per bulb than larger sizes 
where the bulk of the bulb strength 
goes into producing a fine flower. 
The purchasing of yearling bulbs en- 
ables the bulb grower to furnish 
young vigorous bulbs of good size to 
(5) 
