The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-04-20
THE BOWsER TULIP.
Mr.. BOWser After Years of Investiga-
ton Strikes Fame at Last.

Mrs. Bowser, went shopping the
ether afternoon. and as she returned
home at half-past four she found Mr..
Bowser with his coat off making a
flower bed in the front yard. 1t had
been talked over and agreed that there
should be a flower bed in certain
spot, but it had been also Understood
that Mrs. BoWser was to make the bed
and grow SUCH flowers as she chose.
She, therefore. Cooked to Mr. Bowser
for an explanation, and he said: 8
i hadn't a thought of doing this
when went away this morning., but
something happened right after dinner
that may be called the hand of Provi-
dence. You have heard of what is
called the Lawson Pink. haven't you ~
i've read about it, H
Thomas w. Lawson of Boston paid
$40, 900 for a pink and named it after
himself, and it is said that he made
over million dollars out of it. Orders
came for his Dtnks from all over the
world. If it hadn't been for a brindle
COW breaking into his yard one night
and gulping all the pinks down he'd
have made more money than John
Rockefeller"
We'll what has this to do with your
getting home DIT this hour of the day
and making a flower bed?" asked Mrs.
Bowser. So 81 -.-'
LAS 1 said, the hand of Providence
seems to be in it. A man came into
4 the OIIlCe lnlS ana ASKED TOT
Jones' L told him there was no Jones
around there. He seemed very much
put out. and finally learned from him
that he wanted, to sell Jones a tulip
a tulip that will knock the Lawson
Pink colder'n a wedge The, man is
a florist and has been experimenting
for the last ten years with tulips. He
has finally struck it."
with a club?" was 1nnocently
asked. s-A
How. many colors do you see in the
ordinary -tulip2" he queried. as he
dropped his voice. to a whisper and
looked all around to see if anybody
was listening. -
Two or three"
"And what would you say to one
showing seventeen? Seventeen differ
ent colors, Mrs. Bowser, and all of
them so bright and vivid as to arouse
the beholder to the heights of enthus-
iasm and admiration. Lawson and his
old Pink can go hang. They are not
In it. They are-not within hundred
miles of being in it. In a month or six
weeks from now Samuel Bowser and
the Bowser Tulip will be talked about
on the streets of Constantinople on
the one hand and Siberia on the other.
There will be- a crowd of a thousand
people in front of our house all day
long. There will be forty policemen
on duty here. There will be from five
to twenty reporters interviewing us
day and night. / will be filling orders
from the uttermost ends of the earth.
Tomorrow shall order one thousand
photographs and be ready for the
papers. BY thunder, Mrs. Bowser-by
thunder, but we,have hit it at lasti'
His earnestness and enthusiasm
couldn't help but touch her bit, but
presently she, asked in a business
voice: q ST.
"And what did you pay for this
wonderful talip?".
What do you think? He had seen
and talked with Jones on previous
occasion. Jones had agreed to give
him five hundred dollars. AS he had
now lost track Of Jones, and as he
wanted the money to pay off a chattel
mortgage on his horse. l saw my OPP
portunity. I laughed at him.. l sheer |
ed at him. 1 called him robber and
O. swindler. In brief, bulldozed him
into taking $25 for the tulip There |
were tears in his eyes as he went out.
Eyes. tears of Joy. I'd shed few
myself for that much money. Mr.. |
Bowser, you've been worked again"
Woman. don't talk to me that way! |
am no child. l think understand hu-
man nature as well as you do, and I'll |
take my dying oath that the man is all |
right He offered to go before notary |
and make oath that it was seventeen
colored tulip, and that 1T was the only
one in the known world. If I hadn't
taken 1t he'd have gone on to see Law-.l
son and probably got $4,000 for it,"
The bulb was wrapped up in tissue /
paper. Mrs. Bowser looked at it and
saw that it had four or five green
sprouts ready to do more growing, but