Pleasure aud Proftt from Cut Flowers 
(Continued from page 14) 
single vacant lot. At the current small-town price of $1 per dozen, this would be $400 
from a vacant lot. 
I would not want to counsel anyone to go off the deep end and go into the bulb business 
as such, since there may be all the bulb growers in America today that the country re- 
quires, at least in a post-war economy. But there are thousands of communities in America 
of a few hundred to 3000 population where there is no regular florist, where a cut-flower 
business offers an unrealized opportunity to make several hundred dollars each year, as 
well as giving one a lot of thrills and the health that comes from working outdoors. Of 
course glads are THE cut-flower to specialize in since, because of their size and showiness, 
they offer the greatest value for the money of any cut-flower. Also, few flowers are as 
easily grown. In communities where there is already a florist, one can often sell cut glads 
to him. The going wholesale price of cut glads of high quality is 8c per spike here in the 
Midwest. 
In cutting glads, the bulb is not injured as a result of cutting the flower if the spike is 
cut in such a way as to save the foliage. Indeed, the plant will produce a better bulb if the 
flower is cut. 
The secret of success in growing glads for cut-flowers is to grow them well and to have 
Slides for Winter Flower Club Meetings 
Last year we offered our customers a twofold kodachrome service whereby 
they could enjoy and study full color transparencies of many of the newest 
gladiolus introductions. Our first offering consisted of five sets of standard 35 mm 
kodaslides suitable either for projection on a screen or use with a hand viewer. 
There were about 200 slides in each of these sets. Our second offering was an in- 
novation: five STEREO sets showing the glads both in full color and in three 
dimensions. There were about 100 slides in each of these sets. The proper type 
of hand viewers accompanied each type of set. Rental of either type to either 
individuals or clubs was made as nominal as possible: $1.00 per set. 
The response was so tremendous that we were overwhelmed all winter trying 
to keep up with it. Worse yet, in spite of our best efforts, we were unable to get 
the slides to certain flower clubs in time for scheduled meetings. This year, 
though we are still not trying to make any money on these slides but rather to 
popularize the gladiolus, we felt that we ought to raise the rental fee to $3.00 for 
either type of set in order to restrict the demand more largely to flower clubs, so 
that the number of sets available will suffice to cope with the demand, lest exces- 
sive demand again cause disappointment to large groups of flower lovers. Since 
other nurseries to our knowledge are asking $5.00 rental for smaller sets of stan- 
dard kodachromes, we belive that our $3.00 fee is still modest. 
In addition to single spikes of glads, these slides include many beautiful ex- 
amples of gladiolus arrangement, and also some non-glad pictures of famous 
American gardens, such as Longwood, the DuPont garden near Kennett Square, 
Pa., the Hershey Rose Garden at Hershey, Pa. (a legacy of the chocolate king), 
and also Magnolia, Middleton, and Brookgreen—famous old plantation gardens in 
South Carolina, probably the most beautiful in the world. Each year we add 
some new pictures to these sets. 
The stereo sets are much more wonderful in their effect than the standard 
35 mm kodaslides but we do not have a projector for the stereos. 
Let us know in good season the dates on which you would like to rent one 
of these sets. After viewing them, please return them promptly so that some 
other flower club or glad society may have a chance to enjoy them. 
(Note: Many of our glad introductions are also included in the kodachrome 
sets available for rent from Philip Corliss, Somerton, Arizona. Please write to 
Dr. Corliss direct for details.) 

