
A. M. BRAND 
A. M. BRAND 
Born in his father’s nursery. Spent 
his boyhood among plants. Has given 
his life to the nursery business. Has 
specialized in the Peony, originating 
many of the world’s finest varieties. 
Has continued to operate the business 
that was established in Faribault in 
1868—82 years ago. 
Distributor of the world’s best 
Peonies. The finest varieties of Irises. 
Lilacs propagated on their own roots. 
The best in ornamental shrubs. The 
newest fruits. 

Our Change in Policy 
From the time we began to specialize in Peonies until the close of 
the 1949 shipping season, our custom has been to issue 2 catalogs each 
year, one in the spring and another in the fall. Now at the opening 
of the new year 1950, we have decided to issue but one catalog for the 
year, a larger book carrying all the items we offer for both our spring 
and fall trade. 
This change has been brought about by several factors. In the first 
place, getting out 2 catalogs a year entails a great deal of hard work 
both on the part of the management who write the catalog and the 
office force in mailing it to our customers. 
Then the expense of 2 catalogs is practically doubled both in printing 
and postage. In order to avoid much duplication of both work and 
expense, we have decided to issue but one book a year. 
In this catalog, we state which items are listed for spring only, which 
are listed for fall shipment only, and which may be had both in the 
spring and in the fall. Our customers will see the necessity of preserv- 
ing the one catalog for preparing both their spring and fall orders. 
Also we are dropping many items we used to carry as our interests 
have changed with the passing of the years. When this business was 
started in 1868, Minnesota was on the frontier. Most of the southern 
part of the state where we are located was open prairie. The land was 
mostly government land opening to settlement. People were rushing 
in from the East and from Europe taking up this bare government land 
and making homes: They demanded apple trees to start small family 
orchards, and windbreak stocks, both deciduous and evergreen, to plant 
about their buildings. From 1868 to 1920, our business was confined 
almost entirely to meeting their needs. Even now as one travels over 
rural southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, and the eastern part of the 
Dakotas, he sees many old orchards and great groves which originated 
from stock supplied by this nursery. 
By 1920, we had built up a great stock of fine Peonies covering every 
known good variety we could procure. Since then we have made not 
only the growing of good Peonies but the origination of new varieties 
one of our chief interests. At the present time, we send Peonies into 
all sections of the United States, including Alaska, and into many for- 
eign countries, both in the spring and in the fall. 

A Cordial Invitation 
Each summer thousands of tourists on their way to the 
North Woods stop to visit us, for here you find one of the 
principal scenic beauties of Southern Minnesota. Here in the 
Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, you will find 50 acres confined 
exclusively to the growing of the world’s finest Peonies. It is 
not only tourists who stop, pause, and marvel but flower lovers 
from coast to coast come to see our annual Peony show which 
is held every June in our show room. Peony enthusiasts, the 
world over, send to us for strong, vigorous roots, productive of 
large and handsome blossoms. 
Our Lilac fields also attract as much attention as do our 
Peonies, for we have one of the finest collections of Own Root 
French Lilacs in the world. From coast to coast and distant 
lands, flower lovers come to Brand’s. 
If you pass through our city, we hope you will visit us. 
‘Office of Brand Peony Farms zs 
PRESENTS THIS PLAQUE 
Oe 
ARCHIE M.BRAND 
IN APPRECIATION 
OF HIS UI 
AND CREATIVE WORK 

A little later about 100 French Lilacs in 10 varieties that we had 
been growing for several years came into bloom and they were a revela- 
tion to us. To insure good growing qualities and also hardiness, we 
immediately started experimenting to find a practical way to propagate 
the French Lilac on its own root. Now “Own Root” French Lilacs have 
become another of our chief specialties. 
In 1920, Prof. Hansen of the South Dakota Station first sent out 
his Hopa Flowering Crab. We heard of it and purchased 2 small trees 
and planted them in our home yard. After these trees bloomed, we 
again saw that the handwnting was on the wall. Hansen had solved 
the problem of hardy flowering Crabs and we began to pick up a line 
of beautiful Crabs that can be grown clear across this country and far 
up into Canada. They have now become a third intense interest. 
We are not only propagating Peonies, French Lilacs, and flowering 
Crabs on a large scale, but we are also offering to our customers many 
of the best hardy Shrubs, Iris, Gladiolus bulbs, and Perennials, includ- 
ing the now popular Chrysanthemum. 
Our Catalog 
Each year we go over our mailing list and remove the names of 
those who have failed to give us an order for a period of 2 years. 
Our catalog is expensive as we illustrate so many items in color. 
We wish to save expense as much as possible and for this reason 
we cannot continue to send out our book to those who do not pur- 
chase from us. However, if you have purchased from us in the past 
and fail to receive our book and wish a copy, do not hesitate to write 
us for one. 
Many people who are moving about send for our catalog and are 
not really-interested in making a purchase. If we do not receive an 
order after sending out our catalog, we drop that name from our 
files and no further catalogs are sent. Our catalog is sent from sea- 
son to season to all who have given us an order amounting to $3.00 
or more. Others may obtain a copy for 25c, and may deduct this 
amount from their first order that amounts to $3.00 or more. 

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