- wx *& * (462) (Fischer, 1951) (70 
Belvidere oie days) (King Lear x 
Commander Koehl seedling) (Seedling No. 488-42) 
Occasionally we send our customers a seedling under 
number, especially when we are curious as to its per- 
formance in other localities or desirous of ascertaining 
its color appeal. In the case of 488-42, there has been 
such a warm response that we decided to name it and 
list it. The only reason Belvidere is not being given 
a formal debut at the front of our catalog is that it 
has inherited the bulb weakness of Commander Koehl 
which results in the mummifying of a certain per cent 
of bulbs in storage. The bulbs themselves are per- 
fectly beautiful when freshly dug and are most 
uniquely colored, the husk being striped red and white 
unlike any other gladiolus corms I have ever seen. 
But what counts is the beauty of the bloom. I shall 
leave it to our customers to describe this variety: 
“We had some very beautiful flowers this year and 
I should let you know that the two bulbs marked 
488-42 bloomed a beautiful burgundy red. It is early 
and should go a long way, as many friends admired it 
” . 
very much. —Oscar A. Anderson, Minnesota 
“T thought you would like to know how Seedling No. 
488-42 behaved for us. You sent us three medium 
bulbs. They grew 61, 62, and 65 inches tall—7 open, 7 
in color—17 buds—5%4-inch florets—32-inch flower- 
head. You really have something different. We like 
it very much. The color is wonderful, too.” 
—W. V. Davis, Illinois 
“You sent me three bulbs of a dark-purplish red, 
488-42. Is it named or to be introduced soon? I cut 
all three spikes for the Hawkesbury District Show (a 
top show) and won champion seedling on a bloom of 
It; —Sydney Mode, Ontario 
(L 1-.50; 10-4.00) (M 1-.35; 10-3.00) 
(S 1-.25; 10-2.60) (Blbts. 8-.25; 100-2.50) 
Benjamin Britten ~*~ 
(366) (K. & M., 1949) (80 days) This new Dutch 
variety looked impressive at the Eastern International 
Gladiolus Show at Binghamton in 1949, revealing a 
formal double-row spike of good length and of a color 
midway between lavender and purple. Last summer 
in our test garden, however, it distinctly lacked purity 
of color. Perhaps acclimatization will remedy this 
defect. (L 1-.50; 10-4.00) (M 1-.35; 10-3.00) 
(S 1-.25; 10-2.00) (Blbts. 8-.25; 100-2.50) 
e woke x (316) (he & Mo, 
Better Times eee 1946) (70 days) 
Until recently violet was the “forgotten color” with 
interior decorators. Now there are beginnings of a 
“vogue for violet”. The same is true in the glad world. 
As a result of increased interest in the “blues” (more 
accurately, violet), we are able to list several new ones 
this year. But Better Times remains our favorite! It 
has the freshest light blue-violet tone with a clean-cut 
spearhead of deeper blue, tipped white, in the throat. 
Seen at twilight in the garden when our eyes are 
especially sensitive to blue because of changes in the 
retina, or viewed any time by daylight on the north 
side of the house or in a “Rembrandt-lighted” base- 
ment, this glad looks as blue as any light blue iris or 
as wood-violets. The effect is cool and refreshing after 
the warmth and glowingness of most gladiolus colors. 
. . . Many glads do best in the general area, at least, 
of their origination, but Better Times is a distinct 
exception. It did so poorly in Holland that the 
originators dropped it at a time when only a very 
small amount of stock had reached America. With 
us—and I believe generally in America—Better Times 
has proved a splendid performer, making tall, vigorous 
spikes and healthy bulbs. Grow enough of Better 
Times to be able to make up a basket of it alone and 
I believe you'll understand why I say that if I could 
grow only a dozen varieties of glads, one of them 
would be Better Times. (1, 2-.25; 10-1.00) (M 10-.50) 
(S 10-.25) (Blbts. Pkg. .25) 
kk % (422) (Bene- 
Betty Duncan > dict, 1949) (85 
days) (Donna x Royal Gold) We are always on the 
alert to find worthwhile new varieties to fill the blank 
areas in the Graphic Color Index at the end of this 
catalog, but it is not very often that we can discover 
Bonfire Dieppe Gold Red Rascal Sherwood 
Summer Snow 
