44 HENRY KIELD’S SEED SENSE FOR AUGUST, 1951—Henry Field Seed & Nursery Co., Shenan 
HENRY FIELD’S SEED SENSE 
“FOR THE MAN BEHIND THE HOR”’ 
Published by Henry Field Seed & Nursery Co. . 
Field No. 1 Building Shenandoah, Iowa 
Mrs. Henry Field, Editor 
Contributors 
“Alfalfa” John Nicolson (Seed) Deane Schneider (Field Seed) 
Pate Simmons (Seed & Nursery) LeOna Nicolson (Nursery) 
Geo. Rose (Nursery) Irving Steurer (Garden Seed) 
—€& all my friends and customers 
Subscription Price—An order to Henry Field’s 
How Did You Like the Weather? 
Here at Shenandoah, last fall came early, and winter still 
earlier. We didn’t anywhere near have our fall work done 
when the ground froze up solid. Then came terrific early 
freezes and, in the rose growing centers of the country, coming 
so early as to catch roses before they had gone dormant. We 
were luckier than most nurseries because we had most of our 
roses dug before the freezes really hit, but we did lose quite 
a few plants just the same. 
So, like most people who make a living from the soil, we 
accepted our bad luck philosophically and looked forward with 
hope to spring. Then, just as we commenced shipping last 
spring, the weather man turned loose with everything he had 
in all parts of the country. The weather got so mixed up we 
just didn’t know when or where to ship. We would pick out 
an area, would plan to get the orders ready and ship to the 
folks in that area, then the weather reports would come in say- 
ing they were having snows or freezes there. Then we would 
put those orders away and start on some others. We kept this 
up until we got all mixed up. On top of that, you folks saw 
fit to send us the biggest business we have ever had in the his- 
tory of our company, for which we are deeply grateful to you. 
But it sure kept us jumping. 
As our shipping season progressed, so did the rains in 
Shenandoah. It got so we were getting about one rain a day, 
sometimes two. Our growing fields remained a sea of mud 
from the time the ground thawed until away in July. Our 
boys had an awful time digging out perennial plants and other 
plants with which to fill your orders. The men would come in 
from-the fields at night just caked with mud from top to bot- 
tom, and tired and discouraged. 
Now in spite of all this bad weather, we managed to take 
care of our business pretty well. Better than most. But some 
of you folks received your orders late last spring, later than 
you should have, and we want you to know we are sorry about 
that. It worries us when we can’t give you the absolute top- 
grade service that Henry Field’s is noted for, and we hope that 
this fall and next spring the weather man will be a little more 
lenient. As of right now, our rose crop is in beautiful shape, 
and there are lots of them. And our fields are filled with good 
growing stock of all kinds of trees and shrubs and flowers, and 
seeds of all kinds. Lots of new things too. 
Thanks again for your orders and letters. 
say to you, “come again.”’ 
As Henry used to 
Let’s Quit Worrying So Much 
These are trying times. Lots of us have men folks in the 
military services, or expect to have. Taxes are getting higher, 
prices are getting higher. In many big cities, our teen-age 
school children have been exposed to vicious danger by dope 
peddlers. Too many of our public office holders have been 
walking the same path as the racketeers. 
It’s hard to keep sweet and peaceful in times like this, but 
Henry used to point out that it pays to divide your troubles into 
two groups. First, those you can’t do anything about. If you 
can’t do anything about them, forget them. Second, those you 
can do something about. Quit worrying about those and start 
doing something about them. As Henry would say, let’s not 
-hame on our list, but sometimes different members of fa 
ee 
This picture of me was taken last June in one of our peony fields 
about two miles east of town. More peonies are grown here in 
-Shenandoah than anywhere else in the United States. You can 
imagine what a thrill it is to get out and walk around in a field 
of these lovely, fragrant flowers. As far as the eye can see there 
is nothing but row after row after row of colorful peonies. Tr As 
a breath-taking sight! 
go around with a chip on our shoulder and expecting someone 
to spoon feed us. Let’s take care of ourselves. Hoe our own 
row. Be friendly, and helpful, and neighborly, and honest a 
decent. 
And let’s all stay close to our children. Let’s take time to © 
work with them, and play with them, and try to understand 
them. Let’s let them know we love them, and try to bring into 
their minds a feeling of peace and security. And I’m not trying A: 
to be commercial when I say you ought to help them have a 
little garden of their own. I don’t know of anything that is 
better for them. : 
You Should Have Seen Our New ia 
I wish you could have seen for-yourself the new varieties — , 
of Iris growing and blooming in our fields this spring. There 
simply is no comparison between these new Iris and the old 
varieties. The new ones have bigger bleoms, brighter colors, 
better form, and a wider variety of colors. We tell you a littl 
about them on pages 8 and 9 of this catalog, but our pictu 
fall far short of the beauty of the flowers ene ees 
ee at low prices. 
When We Ship 
In the fall, when we get orders in, we can ship seeds and 
bulbs immediately. But some things, like shade trees and 
fruit trees and shrubs and roses, can not be shipped until they 
have gone dormant in our fields. Then we dig them and ship 
them. That usually happens in October. 
So if you don’t get some of your things right away, that is 
the reason. You shouldn’t try to plant them earlier anyway. 
They must be dormant when put in the ground. And you can 
plant most everything, including the fall bulbs, as long as you 
can work the ground, even when you have to break a top crust | 
of several inches. of frozen soil. 
Bertha. Field 
Are You Getting Two Catalogs? 
If your family is getting more than one catalog, we wou d 
sure appreciate knowing it. We send out a catalog to 
different name is put down. So, two or more catalogs are 
to the same address, and because of this we sometimes 
have enough copies to go around. 
catalog please do us a favor by passing it on to a friend 
then let us know about it on the coupon below. Thanks. 
: ) 3 
OI received more than one catalog or copy of Seed Sean 
