Preface 
TO MY MANY FLOWER-MINDED FRIENDS AND 
CUSTOMERS.—Well, it is 1955 now, and time to get out a 
new catalogue. I have been doing this same thing each spring 
now for the past twenty-odd years, but never have I had such 
a year to report on as we had in 1954. The year 1953 was 
considered a real “dry” year, but it was absolutely “nothing” 
when compared with 1954. The past year started off fair— 
occasional showers, but these played out early in the summer 
and from then on we really suffered. Springs dried up, many 
wells either went dry or the water level got dangerously low, 
and eventually in the late fall most of the creeks in this vicin- 
ity went “bone” dry—one could walk dryshod on the creek 
bed. To counteract this as much as possible I kept my yard 
man watering almost continuously (you can imagine my water 
bills), and while I did lose hundreds of plants, I managed to 
carry quite a number through—though fewer of each variety 
than I would have liked. For some reason I do not understand, 
those that lived through the drought did produce some nice 
blooms, and I did get to see the blooms of the new varieties 
I bought in the spring—particularly some new varieties I im- 
ported from Belgium. They really turned in a grand perform- 
ance. Also I am glad to be able to report that I had practically 
no trouble with the Thrip again the past year, and while I 
kept my mixture of DDT, Chlordane and Fermate handy, it 
really was not necessary. This freedom from Thrip trouble I 
believe is largely due to the fact that I had my whole garden 
(a little over an acre) treated with 50% wettable DDT during 
the spring. If that was not responsible for the absence of the 
pesky Thrip, then I don’t know what did the trick. Anyway, 
I hope I will be just as lucky this year, and if so I won’t ques- 
tion the “why” of it, but will just accept the good luck with- 
out question (Personally I don’t like to use a dust gun or 
sprayer). So, if you are having Thrip trouble (and many peo- 
ple do and don’t know it), I would suggest that you have your 
whole garden treated with 50% wettable DDT (not the ordi- 
nary 5 or 10 percent kind used in dusting). It will have abso- 
lutely no effect on vegetables, fruits or flowers grown on the 
soil and will remain effective for 5 years. It is well worth 
trying, don’t you think? 
BLOOMING DATES 
Blooming dates are very much desired by most people who 
grow mums outside (as most of my customer-friends do), and 
I have included them. However, they are approximations only 
and I have leaned over backwards in trying not to convey the 
wrong impression as to blooming dates. If there is any error 
it will be that the variety blooms earlier (not later) than the 
date I have given. In figuring blooming dates for your local- 
ity, remember the blooming date advances as one goes north 
and recedes as one goes south. For instance a variety in full 
bloom here will not reach a similar stage in Nwe Orleans 
until a week later. This should enable you to adjust the dates 
to your locality. However, just in case I have “leaned over 
backwards” a little too much in some cases I would appreciate 
it if you would write me at blooming time, stating how the 
different varieties behaved for you and the date each variety 
was in full bloom—not just showing color. By doing this, and 
enabling me to correct any errors in blooming dates, you may 
enable some one to buy a variety they thought would not 
bloom for them, or—on the other hand, keep some one from 
wasting money on a variety that blooms too late for their 
locality. 
DELIVERY DATES AND TYPE OF PLANTS 
Delivery will be made this spring—from the last of March 
on, and will consist of small “plants’?—not the ordinary 
“rooted cutting” that requires potting up and growing on 
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