HENRY FIELD’S SEED SENSE 
“FOR THE MAN BEHIND THE HOR” 

Published by Henry Field Seed & Nursery Co. 
Field No. 1 Building Shenandoah, lowa 
Mrs. Henry Field, Editor 
Contributors 
“Alfalfa” John Nicolson (Seed) Helen Field Fischer (Flowers) 
Pate Simmons (Seed & Nursery) LeOna Nicolson (Nursery) 
Geo. Rose (Nursery) Irving Steurer (Garden Seed) 
Deane Schneider (Field Seed) —& all my friends and customers 



Subscription Price—A Garden Seed, Field Seed 
or Nursery Order 


It Was a Fickle Spring 
If your plants didn’t behave too well this spring, and a lot of 
people’s didn’t, it probably was the weather. It was a very 
dry winter. Not much snow so very little moisture in the 
ground. The subsoil was extremely dry. Many plants just 
didn’t get enough moisture. That is why so many evergreens 
burned. 
Then the early spring was cold, and still dry. So the plants 
started slowly, in many cases a full month behind normal. You 
probably noticed it particularly with your tulips and other 
bulbs. When they finally peeped up through the soil, they 
were small. And they had hardly gotten up when we had 
several days of really hot weather. So tulips with 6 or 8 inch 
stems started blooming when they should have had 2 foot 
stems. Some hyacinths bloomed right down inside the leaf 
cluster. It wasn’t the fault of the bulbs; just bad weather 
conditions. 
Fruits and berries got a bad break too. When apples and 
plums and early strawberries were in flower, heavy rains came. 
This not only kept the bees from pollinating the flowers, but 
kept the flowers wet too long. So a lot of fruits and berries 
had a very poor set of fruit. 
And because of the same weather conditions a lot of the 
deciduous plants (not holier had trouble starting right 
this spring. 
So if your growing things didn’t act just right this spring, 
don’t blame the plants, or your nurseryman, whether it was us 
or someone else. Blame the weather, and.hope it doesn’t hap- 
pen again. _It probably won’t, very soon. 
Some Tips About Planting Fall Bulbs 
The man'who sells us our imported Dutch bulbs is John 
Res, a fine gentleman who lived in Holland until a few years 
ago. Has his family over here now, including two beautiful 
daughters, and they will make us fine citizens. 
But what I started out to tell you is that John naturally 
knows a lot about fall bulbs and how to plant them and take 
care of them. He was at our place a Set weeks ago and asked 
me to pass on a few tips to you. 
First, he said plant your. tulips at least two feet away from 
the house foundation, particularly if you have a heated base- 
ment. Heat comes through the basement walls and keeps the 
ground around the tulips too warm if they are close to the 
wall. Tulips like to freeze up hard in the winter. 
Which brought Up another point. If you live in the warmer 
states, like Texas, your tulips will do better on the north side 
of your house. te 
And he said be sure to mulch Daffodils and Hyacinths. “And 
he says don’t plant imported Dutch Iris; they freeze off even if 
mulched. That’s why all our Iris are the American varieties 
grown in America. 
And whether or not you have a dry fall, water all your fall 
bulbs good before the ground freezes up. Of course that is 
good advice for all nursery stock. 
Keep Sending Me Your Letters 
I want you to write to me. Henry always enjoyed hearing 
from you, and so havelI. This always has been a friendly busi- 
ness, and we want to keep it that way. Write to me about your 
planting problems,. If I don’t know the right answers myself, 
_ and verily thou shalt be fed.” 

Here’s a picture of me taken last spring out in one of the ">" 
Iris test plots behind the Seedhouse. The Iris certainly were _ 
pretty then. They're one of my favorite flowers. This particular 
variety is Ola Kala, a big brilliant golden-yellow, which was 
selected by the American Iris Society as number one most — 
popular Iris in the country today. » Wan 

I’ll see to it that you hear from one of the men here who does e 
know. ‘‘Alfalfa’’ John Nicolson and Pate Simmons are recog- ma 
nized authorities on field seeds. Irving Steurer is head of our 
garden and flower seed department. Those of you who live ~ 
within about 100 miles of Shenandoah may hear his noon-day 
talks over KFNF. George Rose heads our nursery department. 
And there are others here, and most of them worked with 
Henry for years. They love this business just like he did.. 
Course I like to swap recipes and talk about children and 
chickens and all the rest. What woman doesn’t? So drop us a 
aline. We'll be glad to hear from you. ee 
’ . s S 
! 

Our business last Spring was very good. Looks like this is 
going to be one of the best years the Henry Field Seed & 
Nursery Co. ever had. I’m mighty proud of that, and thankful. 
I, and the others here at the Seedhouse, consider it an ex- 
pression of confidence in us, and we won’t let you down. Thanks 
again for your orders, and all the wonderful personal letters 
you have written to me. es 

















Ihave a neighbor here in Shenandoah who always keeps some ~ 
parsley growing in a pot in her kitchen window, winter and 
summer. When she wants a little parsley for potatoes or soup) 
she just breaks off a little and uses it. She also keeps some more ~ 
in a pot in a basement window, as a spare. When she has picked 
the plant-in her kitchen pretty clean, she takes it to the base- 
ment and brings Log one from the basement upstairs. ies 
bed —Bertha Field~ Fe 
The “Golden Text” of the Field Family 
“Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou live on the. ean 
gure appreciate Rete lt: 
name on our list, but sometimes different members of tami 
or different people at the Same address order from us and e 
different name is put down. So, two or more catalogs are 
to the same address, and because of this we sometimes di 
have enough copies to go around. If you do have an 
catalog please do us a favor by passing it on to a friend, 
then let us know about it on the coupon below. Thanks 
(iI received more than one catalog or copy of Seed Sense, 
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