Rambling Remarks 
Greetings to all our many customers everywhere, and to all prospective 
new ones! We thank you sincerely for making 1949 our biggest and best 
year, and we hope that 1950 will bring you the best growing conditions 
and the finest glads you have ever had. 
Writing a new catalog is a lot of work, but it is a job we really enjoy. 
We start from “scratch” with each issue, never repeating old material 
unless it be something basic such as ordering instructions or cultural notes. 
We could save a lot of headaches and labor by handing the printer an old 
catalog, with a few minor changes and a new set of prices (some catalogers 
seem to do that), but we feel that our customers are entitled to more 
consideration. Gladiolus varieties never perform just the same during any 
two consecutive summers, and we think it the duty of the up-to-date cata- 
loger to inform his customers of faults or good points brought to light as 
each blooming season passes. And of course they want to know as much as 
pore a about newer varieties which may supercede some of the older 
glads. 
We think that flower growers, whether amateur or commercial, are a 
pretty grand group of people. And being more interested in the Gladiolus 
than any other flower, we believe there are none finer than the folks who 
grow this favorite flower of ours. If you are inclined to take this state- 
ment with a grain of salt, we suggest that you try to meet as many of 
them as possible, either at some of the summer shows held thruout the 
country or at the winter conferences held by some of the glad societies. 
One of the biggest and best of these conventions will be the North American 
Gladiolus Council meeting to be held at Atlantic City, N. J., from January 
19th to 22nd, inclusive, 1950. The first day of this conference will be 
devoted to the problems of the commercial grower members, but succeed- 
ing days will feature a program of special] interest to amateurs and show 
erowers. 
The 1949 blooming season gave our glads a real “heat test.’”’ Day after 
day in late July and early August the thermometer passed the 100 degree 
mark, culminating in a reading of 105 degrees on the day that Dr. Corliss 
arrived to photograph our new varieties and seedlings. However, thanks to 
a cool basement, we were able to hold many of them in good condition 
and he got some nice color shots which you will be able to see in some of 
the Kodachrome sets he has for rent. Back to the subject of the weather— 
those hot days last summer really made it easy for us to rate the newer 
varieties as to relative heat resistance. While some were found wanting, 
we were more than pleased to note how many were able to take the heat 
without excessive burning, fading, or even wilting. In most cases these 
traits are noted in the descriptions of these varieties in our general list. 
Of course it should be remembered that heat resistance and drought resis- 
tance are not necessarily the same thing. We irrigate our glads as needed 
during the growing season; usually once a week as we get little or no 
rain during the summer. 
No “Second Team” this year. We thought last year it was a good idea 
to list separately a group of varieties which, while not quite our first 
choice, were still good glads. From a practical standpoint it didn’t work 
out, however. People evidently thought the second group were no good, 
anyway they didn’t buy them. So this year we decided to cut the number 
down somewhat and offer them in one general alphabetical list. We feel 
that our listings this year are really the “cream of the crop’, and that 
the new glads listed will for the most part stand the test of time. Of course 
there are many older varieties that are still good which we can’t list for 
lack of space. But most of our customers are advanced amateurs, show 
growers, or commercial men who are looking for the newer and better in 
glads. And to those who are beginners just starting their glad growing, 
may we say that it really pays to get started with good newer varieties 
whether you grow them just for your own pleasure, for the shows, or for 
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