Another mile stone has passed, yet it seems almost in- 
credible that we have been growing and selling bulbs for a 
quarter century; true, it has not been exclusively Daffodils 
throughout this time, the first years of this venture having 
been dedicated to the Gladiolus primarily, but our interests 
have been centered on Daffodils over the major portion of 
this period. In this (shall I call it brief?) span of time 
many advancements have been made in the breeding of 
finer and more beautiful varieties of flowers so that favorites 
of twenty-five years ago are largely forgotten, although a 
few have managed through sheer merit to maintain their 
popularity. Certainly today’s varieties far supercede in 
beauty those of a few years back although not all of them 
are endowed with a sufficiently vigorous constitution and 
distinctiveness to assure them of a place of permanence in 
view of what flowers are now growing in the hybridizer’s 
test plots. Though they may be obsolete tomorrow, they can 
give us pleasure and satisfaction today. We do not defer 
buying a new car or building a new house because it will 
be a back number in a few decades from now! 
Enough of reminiscing and speculating. It would be a 
happier world if the political scene gave as much assur- 
ance of the future as does the horticultural field but, con- 
templation in this sphere must be accompanied with some 
trepidation. In the temporal sphere there is certainly little 
else that can give more pleasure and satisfaction than the 
growing of flowers, and although there may be frequent 
disappointments due to inclement weather, the inroads of 
pests, various seasonal vicissitudes, or even in varieties not 
meeting up with expectations from a qualitative standpoint, 
it is an inherent trait of a gardener to anticipate next year's 
performance will surpass that of the present. 
We take this opportunity of thanking all of our customers 
for making last year’s sales exceed those of any previous 
season. The response to our sale of some of the varieties we 
wished to discontinue was gratifying, and it will be noted 
that a number of kinds listed previously are omitted from 
our list this year. As announced a year ago, it is imperative 
in view of rising costs, to reduce the number of varieties 
grown, or raise prices, as there are numbers of the less 
familiar sorts of which we sell far too few bulbs annually 
to pay for growing them. The only alternative to raising 
prices considerably, is deleting more varieties from our list 
and we again offer mixed bulbs as per their listing on 
page 17. 
For the most part, our prices on standard kinds are little 
above that asked ten years ago when production and living 
costs were about half those prevailing now. Due to the 
unfavorable foreign exchange rate, and the high rate of 
postage to the East, where most of our bulbs go; and the 
fact that Northwest grown bulbs are larger and heavier, in 
many cases, than those produced elsewhere, it is self- 
evident that, unless a variety finds a fairly ready sale, it 1s a 
loss to grow it. We have made a few minor price changes 
this year, but new varieties, as is customary, have been re- 
duced. The inability of Western growers to sell standard 
varieties at less than 20c or 25c per bulb may be questioned, 
and as an explanation we might cite the following: aside 
from the cost of the original stock, necessary equipment 
and labor to produce bulbs, cost of advertising, packaging 
materials, and postage, there are catalogues to consider, which 
on a basis of the percentage who order out of the number 
who receive catalogues, make for an expenditure of $2.00 to 
$3.00 for catalogue outlay on each order. We could issue 
only a list of varieties and prices but we know that you 
appreciate descriptive matter, meager and inadequate as it 
is. This is not made as a complaint but to inform as to our 
reason for not giving a complete listing of standard varieties. 
Here at Daffodil Haven we engage extensively in hybri- 
dizing. This, the most fascinating part of growing flowers 
is time consuming, and the vast amount of detailed work 
which accrues to this phase of growing adds greater empha- 
sis to the necessity of eliminating some of the named varities 
from our listing. 
For others interested in breeding Daffodils, and for 
those just interested in growing the best of the newer 
varieties, we prepare each season, about the first of the 
year, a sketch of seasonal impressions covering the last 
season’s blooming period. These are mailed out in January 
to those whom we think they might interest; others request- 
ing them may have copies while they last. Brief mention is 
given here and there in this catalogue as to varieties worth- 
while for breeding, but in the limited space available our 
descriptions are brief, often to the point of monotony. While 
there is much variation in color, form, texture, and other 
qualities, written descriptions of the brevity employed here 
cannot picture many of the varieties so as to. differentiate 
between them. | 
OUR 1952 INTRODUCTIONS 
This year instead of listing our own new introductions at the beginning of our list, 
they are found in their alphabetical order with the other varieties: ALPINE, ARDOUR, 
ESTRELLITA, FESTIVITY, PINWHEEL, SACAJAWEA. — 
1951 Introductions include Casabianca, Chinook, Cibola, Fairy Dream, Paul Bunyan, 
Lemon Drops and Zest. 
