other year we would all be out of busi- 
ness.” Most of you know that just the 
opposite happened and that the flower 
business enjoyed the most prosperous 
days in history. I'm not making any 
predictions for the future, but it is only 
logical to believe that as many com- 
petitive items become restricted in pro- 
duction or are taken entirely from the 
market, that people naturally will have 
more money for flowers. However, I 
don't like to place so much emphasis 
upon the monetary end of the business. 
Most of you who know me personally 
know that fundamentally I grow flow- 
ers and have always grown them be- 
cause I love them. I have always 
considered myself to be an ordinary 
and humble man, but never-the-less 
I have an artistic sense and an appre- 
ciation for beauty. While I can ap- 
preciate art, music and song, my cater- 
ing to the artistic has found its chief 
expression in flowers. It is true, also, 
that I have been most successful in my 
work with flowers, but that is a natural 
result of the keen interest in them, and 
love for them, which is bound to cul- 
minate in a prosperous business. 
From my varied experiences in the 
flower business I have learned through 
the years that all in the flower business 
is not profit, nor that it is an easy 
profession, nor one without many haz- 
ards. This same knowledge carries 
through with my many gladiolus cus- 
tomers and I make every possible ef- 
Page Two 
fort to make their investments in glads 
a profitable one, whether it is for those 
who must depend upon the monetary 
angle, or those who grow these fine 
flowers for beauty and enjoyment. 
I consider that every variety I list is 
one of the very best and as I have 
often mentioned in my advertising,— 
“I do not grow all of the good glads, 
but all I grow are good.” Those ex- 
perienced in glad growing know that 
a variety does not always perform the 
same in all types of soil or in varied 
climates with the same degree of regu- 
larity, but it is true that a real top-notch 
variety does fairly well no matter 
where or by whom grown. It is well to 
give them all a fair trial as most of 
them do improve if given a year or 
two to acclimate themselves to their 
new home, new climate and new grow- 
ing conditions. 
I also want to warn you not to expect 
outstanding results without devoting 
some of your time, talent and effort in 
an attempt to do a good job. You will 
always be repaid, as in all things, for 
the care and attention you shower 
upon these flowers. I would say that 
it is a simple care you need to give 
them — selection of a good, sunny, 
well ventilated spot, thorough prepara- 
tion of the soil, careful planting, con- 
sistent cultivation and spraying, mod- 
erate fertilization and ample water. 
Plant large bulbs 5 inches deep, small 
ones, three or four inches. Spray or 
dust with DDT. If you begin with good, 
clean bulbs you will meet with real 
success. 
I've often mentioned that I love all 
flowers and grow many kinds. Usually 
I purchase a hundred bench roses 
from one of our green houses. Last 
year I had long rows of nasturtiums 
and cosmos out in the fields among 
the glads. I didn’t have time to pick 
them but visitors were welcome to do 
so and it filled their hearts with joy to 
get in there and pick to their hearts’ 
content. I also have some select seed- 
lings of irises and daylillies, and I look 
forward to seeing them bloom this year. 
They were young plants and now have 
had a season’s growing to establish 
themselves. 
And then I had about a quarter acre 
of the wonderful delphiniums which I 
am listing elsewhere in this catalogue. 
The seeds were started in one of our 
greenhouses, in flats, and then I trans- 
planted them in cold frames. How well 
I remember that job, as I did it during 
early spring on acold, rainy day. Later 
they were transplanted in the field 
and really they were most beautiful. 
My farm is on one of the busiest high- 
ways by-passing Milwaukee and there 
were no end of flower lovers who came 
to see these delphiniums and to beg 
me to sell them. Adjoining this patch 
was a field of 50,000 planting stock of 
Spic and Span in full bloom, and many 
were the photographers who appre- 
