What You Should Kuow about 
Juter-State Nurseries 
First of All, the Soil—Ever look at Hamburg on the map? 
You will notice it is near the center of the United States. 
We looked around for a long time, checked many loca- 
tions, and finally picked Hamburg for one big, overwhelm- 
ingly important reason—THE SOIL. 
If you ever come out to Hamburg, pick up a handful of 
this dirt anywhere in our 1600 acres and you will see what 
we mean. It is the kind of soil the geologists call loess 
(lo-és). Plants grown in it develop the strong, healthy root 
systems that make them thrive when transplanted to your 
yard or garden. It is a very rare type of soil, occurring in 
only a few places throughout the entire world. 
And the Climate—Here at Inter-State we have a good 
long growing season—time to make the husky plants you 
want to set out. And our winters are cold enough (down to 
20 below zero) to assure hardiness. 
Who Built Inter-State? The real builders of Inter-State 
are people scattered over the whole face of America. All 
the way from the tip of Maine to Southern California, 
from Puget Sound to the Florida Everglades. People who 
love their homes and want to make them beautiful. Back- 
yard gardeners. Farmers setting out orchards and berry 
patches—who wanted the best, because they knew the 
real profit is always in the best. Growers of roses and flow- 
ering plants—some of them wealthy, but most of them 
people who have had to spend carefully for the beautiful 
things in our catalogs. These are the people whose faith 
and support built Inter-State Nurseries. 
How It All Started. We three brothers as school children, 
during vacations and on Saturdays, worked for a large nur- 
sery. In 1919 we moved to’Hamburg and established our 
own nursery, growing and selling at wholesale to other nur- 
series. In 1931 we decided that as long as we were growing 
the stock we should sell Direct-To-You, the final customer. 
So we issued our first catalog that spring. 
What People Liked. People liked the things we shipped 
them. ‘‘Those roses you delivered,’’ they would write, 
“have the most magnificent roots we have ever seen.” 
Then would come another letter telling us how well the 
plants were blooming—and often enclosing the names of 
neighbors who wanted our catalog. (We learned the power 
of the voice that tells good news across the back fence.) 
“That Something Extra.” Our early customers found that 
they could count on what we told them. But what pleased 
them most, we think, was the discovery that what we de- 
livered was generally a little better than they expected. 
Our customers came to look to us for extra quality; for fair 
prices; and for searching out new varieties. 
They learned that the big question at Inter-State is, 
Will this product give the customer the permanent satis- 
faction he has a right to expect? Please continue to count on 
“that something extra’’ in value and quality. 
This, then, is a short story about Inter-State Nurseries, 
a national institution the largest of its kind, which has 
helped make America More Beautiful, More Fruitful. The 
proudest possessions we have are the thousands of volun- 
tary letters telling about the greater enjoyment, better 
health, more beauty and the satisfaction of making homes 
better places in which to live. 
Te vA 
a 
\ Hamburg, lowa 
—™e, 
an nan 
L. R. SJULIN (“LES”) is responsible 
for the planning, writing, illustrating and 
production of the colorful 
catalogs. All three assist in the 
production of our nursery stock. Sjulin is 
a Swedish name, pronounced ‘‘shoe-lin.” 
L. R. (Les) SJULIN 
CARL O. SJULIN (‘Billy the 
Nurseryman”) prepares our 
broadcasting programs on radio 
stations as well as directing our 
advertising campaign in the 
magazines and newspapers. 
> . 
CARL O. (Billy) SJULIN 
D. L. O. SJULIN (“DAVE”) manages the 
business offices and directs a large staff 
of trained workers who 
acknowledge, record and ship your 
orders at the proper planting 
time to every state. 
D. L. O. (Dave) SJULIN 
Inter-State’ Guarane (ZZ 
1. We guarantee our stock to be true to name. If it proves 
otherwise, we will replace free or refund the amount you 
paid us for it. 
2. We guarantee our stock to be first quality and to reach 
you in good, live, growing condition. Examine it carefully 
upon arrival, and, if you are not entirely satisfied, return 
it at once and we will replace it free or refund your money. 
3. Our stock is carefully handled, and under ordinary con- 
ditions should grow for you. But if it does not, owing to the 
weather and other conditions over which we have no con-. 
trol, we will replace at half price the following season, you 
to notify us not later than October Ist, 1955, accompanying 
your report with remittance of one-half original purchase 
price. 
We want you fo be satisfied. If anything is wrong, 
we want you to write to us. 
