Report to our Customers: 
As the 1954 season draws to a close and the vol- 
ume of orders dwindles, the time has come again to 
prepare our catalog for the forthcoming year and 
to write the annual report to our customers. To 
them, too, rather than to the casual reader, a special 
word of thanks is due. Thanks for their support 
which makes it possible for us to continue on our 
chosen path — the breeding and propagation of bet- 
ter and better Daffodils, Iris and Lilies. Thanks also 
for the substantial help many of our customers have 
given us by letting us draw freely on their experience 
in merchandising. It is difficult, impossible, in fact, 
to write to each and every customer as he places 
orders with us. We try to instill system and efficiency 
in this business. Often the printed form must do 
where a personal letter would have been more polite. 
Weare selling at steadily lower prices and producing 
at ever-increasing costs. If we are to survive at all, 
we can do so only by the greatest economy. 
The past spring and summer, the coldest and 
wettest on record here, were enough to test the 
patience and efficiency of any grower. Our schedules 
for harvesting, curing, grading and packing had to 
be revised constantly. In the end, it was only by 
putting on two shifts and by working long hours 
that we managed to process the enormous quantities 
of bulbs produced on the more than two hundred 
acres planted. The crop was good and especially the 
Lilies seem to have benefited from the excess ol 
moisture. Bulbs planted down for two years, in the 
expectancy that they would make good commercial 
grades in 1955, were large enough to sell in 1954 
and too large to be left undisturbed. We were thus, 
in many instances, confronted with the task of not 
only handling our normal 1954 crop but also to 
take care of, grade and replant the crop intended 
for sale in 1955. 
This work has now been done. The farms are 
laid by for the winter and our crew is hard at work 
repairing, painting and improving our buildings, 
equipment and tools. A cold-storage plant was added 
to our already large establishment. It has proven 
OREGON BULB FARMS 
GRESHAM, OREGON 
its worth in making possible Lily storage in our own 
buildings for spring delivery. It also served us well 
in conditioning the flowers for shows and photo- 
graphic purposes. While the expense was high, we 
cannot see now how we could have gotten along 
without it. 
Again, prompted both by the need for greater 
efficiency and by our desire to market nothing but 
the very best, we have reduced our offerings. A 
considerable number of Daffodil novelties has been 
eliminated from this catalog —not because they 
were not good, but simply because to sell but a few 
bulbs of a variety costs us far more than the revenue 
they might bring in. In Lilies, too, we made some 
drastic reductions, both in the number of varieties 
and in the quantities produced. We feel that our 
present offering is the best we have ever made. We 
know that with a normal demand, such as we have 
experienced in the past, we will be sold out long 
before the shipping season ends. 
Our new catalog lies before you. It is your re- 
sponse to our previous offerings that has made this 
business prosper. We hope we may continue to serve 
you, for far beyond the prospects of monetary gains, 
which are but slight, there is that tremendous chal- 
lenge to see what is around the corner — the better 
and better Daffodils, Iris and Lilies of the future. 
It is this challenge that has spurred us on in the past 
and that guided us again in this difficult season. We 
feel that you and your customers are partners in this 
endeavor and we appreciate your support which 
made it possible. We look hopefully forward to 
the future. 
Sincerely yours, 
GRESHAM, OREGON 
January, 1955 
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