ae 
a ay ome 
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Do you know where I am as I begin to 
write this catalogue? Well, it’s on the train 
on my way home from the North American Gladi- 
olus Council meeting at Atlantic City. There so 
many of my friends asked ‘‘Where’s your cat- 
alogue?’’ that I have decided to hurry the job 
along. : 
Once again I would Tike to take a few 
moments to talk about the advertising of flowers. 
The subject received some discussion at the 
convention, but not the attention which it needs. 
No major business in America receives 
so little advertising and publicity as do flowers. 
It is really a miracle that the flower business 
exists at all. Guess, probably, it’s the fact 
that just about everybody loves flowers and the 
beauty and joy they bring into our lives. If you 
will reflect for a moment, you will realize that 
women’s gowns, hats, coats, shoes and all items 
of personal adornment are placed before us cons 
stantly to create sales, but not so with our 
flowers, which can well be the most important 
touch of beauty to a woman’s ensemble. Foods, 
automobiles, sporting goods, travel, machinery, 
everything, have tremendous advertising ap- 
propriations to build and maintain their sales 
volume, but no so with flowers. 
I -mention this because those of you who 
grow flowers commercially will find it to your 
advantage to do some advertising of your own 
in your nearby territory. Some of you may have 
the opportunity to cooperate with the allied 
florists association in your city and give them 
some financial assistance to help carry on this 
work. It is getting more and more difficult for 
the retail florists to dispose of your gladiolus. 
Nothing will do the job except advertising. 
In presenting this catalogue, it is my hope 
that you will find it interesting, informative and 
of some assistance to you in making a good 
choice in investing your money in gladiolus. 
Your interest may be a small one, made in an 
attempt to select a few bulbs for a small garden 
where you will carefully and painstakingly plant 
them in the hope that they will yield some pleas- 
ure and satisfaction foryour efforts and handiwork. 
Others may select varieties to round-out 
their present collection with additional colors 
and varieties. Larger growers may find an item 
or two of commercial value which have proved 
during the past few years that they can be de- 
pended upon to yield the high percentage of 
marketable spikes which their type of growing 
demands. 
I feel confident that every variety I list 
is a good, dependable cut flower variety, and 
every good cut flower variety must necessarily 
be a good exhibition variety, but not vice versa. 
1949 was a fine year, BUT 
The year just closed was a very outstand- 
ing one for the gladiolus world. There were more 
and better shows than ever, and there were more 
people growing gladiolus than ever in history. 
The multitude of fine varieties exhibited at the 
shows proves that the gladiolus is now riding 
the crest of flower popularity. The startling 
