May 27, 1916 



HORTICULTURE 



723 



THE IRIS IN CALIFORNIA. 



Having spent the winter in Cali- 

 fornia, of course I was on the watch 

 for the most successful all-around 

 flowers. 



There are frosts in winter even in 

 that Land of the Sun. The Exposition 

 continues another year in San Diego, 

 and it may be perpetual, as they have 

 very fine buildings and their grounds 

 are a dream of beauty. We stopped at 

 the Knickerbocker Hotel which is in 

 the center of the car system. It is a 

 homelike place and the proprietor 

 went with us. pointed out the car we 

 needed for any part of the city. I was 

 looking for a flower which would be in 

 bloom all the year. I found beautiful 

 iris in flower on the ground in De- 

 cember. 



After I went to the justly famous 

 Iris Gardens of Moneta, California, I 

 found that there were iris blooms 

 every day in the year. Remember the 

 iris is one of the largest flower famil- 

 ies. There are over 170 distinct 

 varieties besides the rare new crosses. 

 Mrs. Dean, the proprietor, is about the 

 best informed person in America on 

 this flower. She has Dykes' colossal 

 work which cost $35.00, also every 

 book she could hear of on this flower. 

 Some of the newer sorts are superb 

 and defy description. Maerantha or 

 Amas from Asia Minor has immense 

 radiant petals broad as a lady's hand. 

 Slonsignor is a new one from France 

 with a wonderful blend of violet and 

 purple. Dorothea is a beauty of the 

 dwarf variety of a lovely smiling and 

 open face. Mesopotamia is a glorious 

 Amazon, a queen among the rest, four 

 feet tall and a splendor. Shefiield 

 Giant is a wonder. Mrs. Dean assisted 

 in the last edition of the Iris Manual, 

 spending much time in classifying 

 and describing the various kinds. The 

 iris is the best drouth resistant we 

 have, marvelously adapted to all the 

 semi-arid regions. 



York, Neb. C. S. Harbison. 



ROSE LOS ANGELES. 



IN LILAC TIME. 



Go d<pwu to Kew in lilnc-timo, in lilac time. 



in lilac time; 

 Go ilowu to Kinv in llLic-tlnie (it isn't tar 



from London!) 

 And you .shall wander hand in hand with 



love in summer's wonderland; 

 Go down to Kew in lilae-tlme (it isn't far 



from London!) 



The cherry trees are seas of bloom and soft 



perfume and sweet perfume. 

 The cherry trees are seas of bloom (and oh, 



so near to London!) 

 And there they say. when dawn is high and 



all the world's a blaze of sky. 

 The cuckoo, thouph he's very shy. will sing 



a song for London. 



The nightingale is rather rare and yet they 



say you'll hear him there 

 At Kew'. at Kew in lilac-time (and oh, so 



near to London !) 

 The linni't anil the throstle, too, and after 



dark the long halloo 

 And golden I'yed 'tinvhit. tn-whoo " of owls 



that ogle London. 



Nor Noah hardly knew a bird of any kind 



that isn't heard 

 At Kew, at Kew in lilac-time (and oh, so 



near to London 11 

 And when tlie rose Ik gins to pout and all 



the chestnuts .spires are out 

 ■i'ou'll hear the rest without a doubt, all 



chorusing for London : - 



Come down to Kew in lilac-time, in lllac- 



tinic. in lilac-time; 

 Come down to Kew in Ulac-time (It Isn't 



far froin London I) 

 And you sh.ill wander hand in hand with 



Love in sununer's wonderland : 

 Come down to Kew in lilac time (it Isn't far 



from London!) 



— From Alfred Noyes' poem "The 

 Barrel Oryan." 



Nkw Rose "Los Angeles." 



This new- rose, said to have been 

 raised by Fred. Howard, of Los An- 

 geles, Cal.. recently received its for- 

 mal "christening" in the Chamber of 

 the Los Angeles City Council, under 

 the name of "Los Angeles." It is de- 

 scribed as a sturdy bloom, five inches 

 in diameter, of luminous coral pink 

 shaded at the base of the petal with 

 translucent gold, its fragrance equal 

 in intensity to the odor of the finest 

 Marechal Niel. Buds are long and 

 pointed, expanding into a flower of 

 mammoth rroiortions. with an ever 

 increasing intensity of color as the 



blooms mature, wonderful lasting 

 qualities, petals thick in texture and 

 the whole flower substantial to a high 

 degree. One of the best growers in 

 the entire family of roses, producing 

 an endless succession of flowers from 

 early spring to late autumn, etc., etc. 

 It is also claimed for the new rose 

 that it is absolutely mildew proof. 

 Having all these superlative qualities. 

 Los Angeles should have a triumphant 

 entry into the ever-increasing retinue 

 of tlie Queen of Flowers. 'We hope the 

 - claims so confidently put forth may 

 be established. "Time will tell." 



FALL FLOWER SHOW AT CLEVE- 

 LAND. 

 There is to be a big show held in 

 Cleveland, Sept. 2nd to 9th, under the 

 name of The Industrial Exposition 

 and Fair. One feature will be a Flower 

 Show. The co-operation of the Cleve- 

 land Florist Club, The Ohio Horticul- 

 tural Society, The Cleveland Garden 

 Club, Shaker heights Garden Club, 

 and Lakewood Garden Club, has been 

 invited. Committees representing 

 these societies will meet in the very 

 near future and arrange the details of 

 their premium list. H. P. Knoble. 

 of Knoble Bros., florists, is a director 

 and a member of the executive com- 

 mittee of this coming event. M. A. 

 Vinson, manager of the successful 

 Cleveland Flower Show last November, 

 will have active charge and general 

 direction of tlic entire show. Copies 

 of the |)remium may be secured by ad- 

 dressing Mr. Vinson, at 2515 Franklin 

 avenue, care The Cleveland Chamber 

 of Industry, Cleveland. 



courage required and the amount of abuse 

 to withstand, to, in only a small measure 

 inaugurate a reform in any line of business. 



I too appreciate the lack of compliments 

 coining even from those who fully agrea 

 with such reform and now take this op- 

 portunity of congratulating you .is a body 

 of highminded business men for the cour- 

 age of your convictions, each one of you, 

 in recognizing Sunday as the one day in 

 seven to refuse to do luisinesa. 



I fully appreiiate the temptations you 

 must resist, ami the abuse you surely re- 

 ceive, but I predict you will win out in the 

 end And I sincen'Iy liope to sec the day 

 when all those who are now heaping this 

 abuse on you will thank you for having 

 taken the initiative in tliis great reform. 

 Very sincerely yours. 



J. P. AMMANN, 



A GREAT REFORM. 

 The following letter from a gentle- 

 man, who was a shipper to the St. 

 Louis market for over a quarter of a 

 century, in approval of the closing of 

 the wholesale flower stores on Sunday 

 is self explanatory. 



EdwardsviUe. 111,. May 1. lllKi. 

 St. Louis Wholesale Florists. St. Louis. Mo. 

 Gentlemen: In this progesslve age as in 

 all past ages I appreciate the amount of 



PREPAREDNESS. 



Some day the soft ideal that we wooed 

 Confronts lis liercely— foe beset, pursued 

 .\n(l cries reproachfully "Was it then my 



praise. 

 And not myself you loved? Prove now 



thv truth. 

 I claim of thee the promise of thy youth. 

 Give lue thy life or cover in empty phrase 

 The victim of thy genius, not Its mate!" 

 Life niav be given in many ways 

 And loyalty to Truth be sealed 

 As bravely in the closet as the field 

 So beautiful is Fate. 

 But then to stand beside her 

 When craven chnrls deride her. 

 To front a lie In arms and not to ylebl. 

 This shows, methinks, God's plan 

 And measure of a stalwart man. 

 Limbed like the old heroic breeds 

 Who stands self poised on manhood s 



solid earth. 

 Not forced to frame excuses for his 

 hirtb. , . 



Fed from within with all the strength he 

 needs. 



— James Russell Lowell. 



