Of the many thousands of named dahlias in the world the recent standardiza- 
tion booklets of the Central States and American Dahlia Societies list as standards 
five of my own introduction, Angelo Rossi, Burgundy, El Rubio, Mandalay and 
Polaris. Before this there were two dahlias of mine that were well-known 
throughout the world, Barbara Redfern and Bagdad. Any commercial dahlia 
breeder considers himself lucky to produce one outstanding new variety from 
each thousand seedlings grown. In 1948 and 1949 I grew 400 Mendelian seedlings. 
Last year at least fifty of these second generation seedlings were outstanding 
enough to be grown again. This is the equivalent of fifty thousand seedlings from 
only 400 second generation Mendelian seed. Visitors to my wonderful gardens at 
1809 Cliff Drive this year will be amazed at the glorious beauty of these seedlings, 
arte range from tiny three-inch miniatures to dahlias eleven and twelve inches 
in diameter. 
You will also see several new dahlias in bloom which I expect to introduce 
in 1951. They are: THE CURTIS REDFERN, EL SUENO, SUSAN GIBSON, 
FRANCISCAN, and LA CONCHITA. 
My garden, a short mile from the Santa Barbara channel, with the Channel 
Islands in full view sixteen miles farther West reminds one of Walt Whitman’s 
“Leaves of Grass” poem which adorned the walls of the Setting Sun Arch in the 
Court of the Universe at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Franciso in 1915. 
“Facing West from California's shores 
Inquiring, tireless, seeking what is yet unfound. 
I, a child, very old, over waves, toward the house of maternity, 
The land of migrations, look afar, look off the shores of my western sea, 
The circle almost circled.” 
Had I been younger I might have been tempted to keep the technique of my 
discovery a trade secret, but I am now in my sixty-eighth year and decided to tell 
the world how I Have succeeded. Last year I wrote the editors of the Dahlia (the 
Central States Dahlia Society) and the American Dahlia Society explaining in 
detail my technique and sent them photographs of my thumb and index finger 
technique. I suggested they might use my letter and thus inform you readers of 
my experiments. | 
Naturally, I was disappointed that the editors failed to publish the article I 
sent them; I still think every reader should have been told of my achievements. 
You will be most welcome as a visitor to my garden this year. 
My suggestion is that every reader of this pamphlet interested in flower 
propagation, both young and old, follow my experiments in his own way. I am 
bold enough to prophesy that you will thus revolutionize flower production 
throughout the world. 
I am not a biologist, and kixvethad only one year in botany in 1897 at the Los 
Angeles High School. Please write me of the success you have with any of your 
experiments. Thank you for reading this. 
Curtis Redfern 
314 East Carrillo St. 
Santa Barbara, California 
