58 
The Garden Magazine, March, 1920 
Plan Your Hardy Garden NOW 
Before the Spring Rush Starts 
We shall be glad to give your problem our personal at- 
tention through our staff of experts, whether you plan a 
little plot in your backyard or contemplate laying out an 
extensive estate. 
“PALISADES POPULAR PERENNIALS” 
Over a Thousand Different Kinds io Select From 
Whatever is worth growing in hardy plants, grows in our 
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Whether you want a few specimen plants of a rare species, [jj 
or thousands of one and the same kind for planting in masses, 
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A request will bring our list 
C. BETSCHER 
L. B. 670 Dover, Ohio 
IRIS FANCIERS UNITE FOR ACTION 
American Iris Society Successfully Launched 
T O COLLECT and disseminate knowledge 
of the Iris, to encourage its cultivation and 
improvement, and to work in harmonious co- 
operation with all organizations of kindred in- 
terests.” Such is the avowed purpose of this 
new flower society which was organized on Jan- 
uary 29, 1920, at the The New York Botanical 
Gardens at an enthusiastic meeting of many 
lovers of the flower. We owe much to the hos- 
pitality of Dr. N. L. Britton, the Director, and to 
Dr. H. A. Gleason, through whose kind offices 
so many interested individuals have been brought 
into active cooperation. 
Any person interested in Irises is eligible for 
membership and an active cooperation and out- 
line of the general policy adopted, will, 1 think, 
clearly reveal the value of membership to all who 
grow even a few varieties as well as to those with 
large collections, or special interests. To the 
commuter with a small garden who has just de- 
cided to add Irises to his collection, we can offer 
unprejudiced advice on culture and treatment, 
recommend the best varieties to suit his particular 
color taste or conditions; to the large grower, 
recommendations of good varieties should also 
be of value, and often correct nomenclature is of 
importance. We are in touch with commercial 
growers throughout the country, as our data in- 
creases we can advise you as to where in your 
vicinity there are good collections of Iris to be 
visited or where you may obtain particular varie- 
ties not commonly listed, for many prefer to make 
their selections from the blooming plants or, 
after reading some article in the Garden Maga- 
zine, for example, are unable to find in a trade 
catalogue the variety mentioned. 1 shall now 
proceed to consider the developments in detail. 
Collections of Iris in full flower are well worth 
attention for only then do many of us appreciate 
the great range of color, the possibilities of using 
them in selected groupings, or in glorious masses. 
There are already many fine collections, both 
public and private, and we hope to make arrange- 
ments so that members may have an opportunity 
to visit the private collections, and we hope to 
announce the period of greatest display so that 
any one may be reminded when the Iris are at 
their best. There are already collections in the vi- 
cinity of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Wash- 
ington, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Paul, and Los 
Angeles, to mention but a few, and it is planned 
to cooperate with the public authorities in estab- 
lishing representative collections of fine varieties 
in many sections. Already cooperation has been 
suggested in connection with the University of 
California, the Dept, of Agriculture at Washing- 
ton, The Missouri Botanical Garden, and Cornell 
University; and the New York Botanical Garden 
which already has a fine Iris planting is to be the 
site of as complete a collection of I ris as is possible. 
That we have already compiled a check list of 
more than 1,000 varieties suggests how large a 
collection this will be. An agreement has been 
entered into whereby all members of the Society 
will be supplied with the published reports. 
Here will be taken up the question of correct 
nomenclature and authentic description. Other 
plantings will be largely for cultural tests and for 
display, to permit the garden lover to select from 
the finest of them all. 
Of but little less value to the prospective 
purchaser is the opportunity to sec the cut flower 
in an exhibition. The Iris Society will hold no 
annual exhibition in the accepted meaning of the 
word but it hopes to cooperate with local garden 
clubs and horticultural societies in many cities- I 
Initial action must, of course, rest with the local I 
unit, but to a greater or less degree the society I 
is prepared to enter into many such projects. I 
1 foresee exhibitions of Iris, held in connection 1 
with our society in Philadelphia, Boston, Wash- I 
ington, Cincinnati, and elsewhere this approach- 1 
ing spring. Many of us have noted with dismay I 
the gradual decrease of interest and participation f 
in exhibiting at flower shows, and the crying I 
need is to help and encourage the small grower, 1 
How many of us have come away from a visit I 
to an exhibition of hardy flowers, with the per- I 
haps unspoken thought, “Why, I could have I 
won that prize, 1 have a finer display in my own > 
garden” and yet how few of us have actually I 
tried another time to exhibit. Let me compare 
for you two experiences of the past season, a show 
in a small community with eighteen entrants, and 
a much advertised exhibit in a large city with 
only four; in one case a community of friends 
with friendly competition, in the other a gather- 
ing of strangers with advertising their concern; I 
the fact that the first was without resources and 
that the second is richly endowed but enhances '• 
the contrast. Apparently flowers are not a 
sufficient bond of interest, there must be a general 
community of interests, and yet have you ever 
run across a true garden lover who was not willing 
to share his information, even his very plants, 
with kindred spirits. Let us all get together, 
acknowledge Iris as a bond for companionship, 
join the society with an honest intention of hearty j 
cooperation, and, if in no other way do our part 
in making an Iris show a real display and a lively 
but pleasant competition. The Iris Society is 
preparing advice for exhibitors, and plans to 
standardize the schedule, recommend the judge 
and provide set methods of judging for his guid- 
ance. Satisfying and just awards, however 
small they may be intrinsically, wholly imper- 
sonal and impartial; and the establishment of 
standards by a central authority is the first step. 
The pageant of Iris colors appeals to many but 
it is an impersonal appeal dependent upon the 
individual’s appreciation, and there are other and 
often stronger calls of shape or mass dependent 
on a more restricted predilection. Information 
must be gathered bit by bit from many sources 
and it is here that we urge all members to do their 
share. Your bit of knowledge or opinion may 
seem irrelevant, not worthy of attention, but it 
is only by this coordination of personal experiences 
that we can arrive at a concensus of opinion, the I 
real authority in many questions. Whether you 
are a mere amateur or a thorough-going specialist, 
get in touch with the Society and let us put you 
in touch with others with a similar trend of 
thought. There are many lines of development 
which space permits me merely to touch upon. 
There is much in Iris Botany that remains to be 
solved in the nice distinctions between species, 
probably the records of the careful breeder if 
subjected to analysis by a trained geneticist will 
assist and who would not like to discover the 
mysterious alchemy that produces a fine variety, 
not a poor one. The common origin of all Iris 
or the complex origin of our finest, both hold a 
touch of the unknown; there is a joy of anticipa- 
tion in just raising a seedling but it is heightened 
if it is the culmination of long and studious plan- 
ning. The history of Irises also has its adher- 
ents, there is amusement to be derived from the 
materia medica of the old herbalists and romance 
{Continued on page 62 ) 
