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Jal VIGOUR AND BRANCHING HABIT IN IRIS RAISING 97 he: 
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note that [ had no name for it, but that it had been given me by Pe 
_ Professor Foster. I remember that the late M. Selfe Leonard said to Pe 
_ me, « why dont you put that flower up for a certificate? It is really . 
_ good». I did so, and as the plant had no name it was provisio- 
nally styled « Iris germanica G. Yeld » and was given an Award 
_ of Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society’s Deputation. It was 
_ really Iris cypriana. I had at once perceived that it was likely tobe 
a good plant for the hybridist and proceeded to use it. a 
Professor Foster also sent me a plant which he called Amasia | 
(now well known as macrantha). 1 shall never forget the day when 
it flowered, for I recognised at once that it would be an excellent a 
flower for my purpose. He also sent me asialica, now known as me 
trojana. When seeking to increase my stock of this plant I have on 
various occasions received what I know as Kharput, instead of it. Y ; 
I used all these three varieties and my first seedling, cypriana 
crossed with Amasia (pollen parent), which I called Arac, after the | 
giant brother of Princess Ida, in Tennyson’s « Princess », was 
shown at the Drill Hall, Westminster, on June 19, 1900, though it 
failed to find favour with the R. H. S. Floral Committee. It has the 
large blossoms and branching habit which we now see in so many 
Irises. 
I raised a good many similar flowers, but it was not till June 
10 th., 1902, that asiatica crossed with macrantha (pollen parent), 
shown under the name of Sarpedon, obtained an Award of Merit 
from the R. H. 8. 
I had found that, in the York climate pallida and especially pal- ce 
lida dalmatica, had certain congenital weaknesses, and it seemed to 
me that by employing these three varieties, which Professor Foster 
had given me, and especially by using macrantha, as much as pos- 
sible, I should gain a vigour in my seedlings — apart from the 
_ branching habit — which I had failed to obtain in the progeny of 
pallida. Nor was I disappointed. I have received many testimo- 
nies to the vigour of my plants, including some from keen Iris growers 
=: = 
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['raised a great many strong plants, the best of which is known 
as Lord of June. 1 am sorry that its exact parentage has been 
lost. Neptune followed, though it gained its Award of Merit before 
| Lord of June, it was very difficult for me to send my flowers from 
York to the R. IH. S., and I am much indebted to my friends C. E. 
Shea and G. P. Baker for growing them for me in their gardens 
(so far superior to mine) at Foots’ Cray and Bexley. 
I made many efforts to raise a satisfactory red [ris. Some seedlings 4 
were tolerable, but I have failed to produce a first class flower. 4 
_ However I console myself with Asia (Award of Merit, 1918) for, though 
, 
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