DAFFODILS — A Report 
Daffodils — A Report 
For more than twenty years | have been raising 
new hybrid daffodils in Oregon. Before that time | 
had the privilege of working in Holland at the de 
Graaff Brothers nurseries where many of the now 
famous new red-cupped varieties and the ‘‘Giant 
Leedsii’’ were raised. My memory goes back to well- 
remembered sunny April days when | visited the 
Leiden nurseries of my grandfather, S. A. de Graaff, 
to look at the large beds of new white daffodils that 
he raised. With this background of more than thirty 
years of daffodil raising and judging, | feel confident 
that the varieties which, for the first time, are being 
included in these pages can stand on their own mer- 
its. Although they may not all be world-shattering 
innovations, we do have new pinks, doubles and 
lemon or sulphur-yellow trumpet types among them 
that will hold their own with any | have seen here or 
abroad. 
| have grown these more than one hundred va- 
rieties for several years. | have named them and 
they have been exhibited here in Oregon and at daf- 
fodil shows in other parts of our country. They are 
now listed in alphabetical order and priced at a 
figure that is roughly commensurate with their beauty. 
if we sold all of these daffodils at the prices listed, 
we should not recover half the cost of our labor and 
time invested in them. If anyone should take me to 
task for the prices asked and inquire into the dif- 
ference between a ‘‘Magic Pink’’ at ten dollars and 
a ‘‘Spring Maid’’ at five, both being attractive pinks, 
then all | can say is that in the price calculation 
many factors such as taste, rate of inorease, inten- 
sity of coloring, proportion and other intangibles 
play a role. 
The very much abbreviated color description 
listed with every name, is furnished merely to iden- 
tify the types. Pink will cover both the pure, dog- 
rose pink cups and the pink-margined ones, the 
salmon, buff and amber types as well. Sulphur and 
lemon are also shades of varying intensity. When 
two letters are given, they are first the color of the 
cup or crown, the second symbol is for the perianth 
which can be w for white, y for yellow or i for ivory. 
The cups may be r for red (vermilion, cherry, fire- 
red, etc.) or o for orange in all its nuances. 
Page 14 
The stocks of all these varieties will be lifted 
during July of next year and they will be replanted 
by August 1. After that date we shall not take any 
orders for them. Even at five dollars a bulb, by the 
time we have dispatched a man to dig such bulbs 
especially, a later order would be a loss to us. The 
planting would have to be disturbed and we should 
lose sight of the rate of increase. This same con- 
dition applies to the other expensive novelties listed 
in the body of our catalog. These daffodils are a 
hobby of ours and we cannot let them interfere with 
our other activities. 
A word about our other stocks may be in order 
here. A mild winter which made many of the early 
daffodils come through the ground too soon, was 
followed by a sharp spring frost. As was to be ex- 
pected, some damage was done, especially on the 
lower lying fields. This again demonstrated all too 
well the need for perfect drainage for all daffodils. 
In spite of this damage, the crop was good, though 
not heavy. The much desired Jumbo King Alfreds 
were in short supply, the number of small bulbs was 
increased accordingly. For 1952 we planted some of 
the finest stocks we have ever handled and; barring 
unforeseen calamities, the prospects are for an ex- 
cellent crop. 
The demand, however, is keeping in step with 
our production and during the fall of 1951 we came 
closer to a complete sell-out than we have ever 
been. Were itnot for the fact that some of our special 
promotions matured late, we should have been sold 
out completely. In this connection, we draw your 
attention once more to the beautiful color folder of 
which a copy is enclosed with this catalog. A sepa- 
rate page is devoted to these folders. They are 
attractively priced and add greatly to the direct 
sales, as well as to the prestige of any firm using 
them. We hope you will try them, if only on a limited 
scale. 
Our daffodils will be in flowet from the last week 
’ of March to the second week of April. We hope you 
can pay us a visit at that time. It is the only way of 
becoming acquainted with all the new varieties, of 
observing their relative merit and discovering their 
great beauty. 
