232 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Then come the resplendent irises. One looli:s at them, espe- 

 cially the newer sorts, in their quiet beauty, and. language 

 fails. They are so winsome and ethereally delicate. They 

 give a hint of both worlds, presenting us with the fairest this 

 earth affords, and at the same time there is something proph- 

 etic about them of beaut}^ not yet revealed. 



This place is their paradise. Thej can jjut on their resplen- 

 dent garments without the rebuke of the storms. Here they 

 unfold all their charms. The lure of their beauty is indescrib- 

 able. While in bloom you hover over them and see that vein- 

 ing, interweaving, and blending of tint and shading you can 

 not describe. That iridescent glow we imagine is the smile 

 of the dazzling goddess from which they are named. They 

 hold and fascinate you and throw a spell over you. You go 

 and come again. You linger and ponder in delightful rev- 

 erie. You are seeing them at their best. They much prefer 

 to make their toilet in seclusion than to dress in all out of 

 doors. Here the peonies begin to bloom until that large bed 

 is overwhelmed with them. There are the lilies, the platyco- 

 dons, the phloxes, the stately Bocconias and Lupines. You 

 have a full menagerie of loveliness all your own. 



While the flowers are at their best, the hedge seems to say, 

 "Now I will take a hand in this myself," and lo, it is covered 

 with a mantle of fragrance and beauty, each bush in courtly 

 dress keeping guard over the charming wards within. The 

 honeysuckle is very fragrant — the perfume fills the arena, 

 mingling with the sweet breath of the flowers and filling all 

 the surrounding air. 



And you have done all this yourself. You got four hundred 

 cuttings and planted that space and filled it with beauty. 

 You stand there with a higher appreciation of yourself and of 

 your possibilities. The trouble with the average man is he 

 uses but a small part of himself. Let him work up all his 

 powers and reach out and take his own and he will wonder 

 who that fellow is and he will feel like taking off his hat to 

 himself. 



