The Garden Magazine, June, 1921 
23 5 
WILLIS E. FRYER 
Whose new variety, "Mag- 
nificent,” won Honorable Men- 
tion at the Minneapolis Iris 
Show (1920). Within the last 
three years Mr. Fryer has sent 
more varieties into the trade 
than any other American 
Lady, Montezuma, and Juniata, varieties far in advance of any 
I of the older European sorts. It has been suggested that some 
of Mr. Farr’s seedlings are not as fine as some of the later 
European varieties. While these criticisms may in some in- 
stances be just, they are equally just of any other breeder, and I 
would much prefer to judge a breeder by his best things than by 
his worst. 1 wish to point out here, however, that most of his 
things were raised before we knew of the modern Iris develop- 
l ment in Europe; that they were distinct advances on the older 
sorts; and that they, together with his importations, have 
brought the Iris to its present height of popularity. His 
position in Iris history must in consequence ever be secure. 
A little later Farr imported from Goos & Koenemann in 
Germany and was one of the first to present the wonderful 
Loreley, Rhein Nixe, Iris King, Gajus, Mithras, and the inter- 
mediate Irises to the American public. They in their turn again 
increased the interest of gardeners in the Iris. Following 
i this he became one of the early importers of Vilmorin’s Ori- 
i flamme, Eldorado, Alcazar, and Archeveque; so that through the 
I years he has kept pace with the latest developments in Europe, 
as well as putting out seedlings of his own from time to time. 
His early seedlings were followed by others such as Mary 
L Garden, Pocahontas, and — -last year — Seminole, which received 
one of the first Honorable Mentions of the Iris Society. 
Mr. Farr, however, soon had many competitors. Nurseries 
specializing in Iris sprang up all over the land, some of them 
: buying their stock from him and copying his catalogue almost 
i word for word; others importing direct from Europe and very 
| often, under new and strange names, the identical varieties 
[ offered by Prince sixty years ago. The Rainbow Iris Gardens 
I; of St. Paul were the first among them to offer a number of the 
Foster and Yeld varieties in America; while Mrs. Dean of 
f Moneta, Cal., was the first to import the new Millet and Denis 
, seedlings. In fact many of our large nurseries now offer com- 
plete collections, where before they 
offered but three or four varieties. 
As a raiser of seedlings also he 
was not long alone. At Welles- 
ley Farms, Massachusetts, 
Miss Grace Sturtevant has 
a beautiful, small, roadside 
BERTRAND H. FARR 
Originator of Quaker Lady, Montezuma, Juniata and other justly 
famous varieties; a notable history-maker for the Iris in America 
garden sloping gently down to a pond; in spring time so 
charming a picture is made by the Iris that all passers-by 
pause to admire. A set of seedlings exhibited by Miss Stur- 
tevant in 1914 before the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 
ciety brought her a number of certificates and awards of 
merit. In her breeding she has sometimes used cypriana and 
other kinds springing from Asiatic origin, which have given 
size and height, but she has been fortunate in securing these 
attributes without the loss of vigor which has characterized 
some of the seedlings of Foster, Vilmorin, and Denis in Europe. 
Of her many fine varieties it is difficult to choose the best; 
my own personal favorites are Afterglow, B. Y. Morrison, 
Queen Caterina, and Shekinah. 
A CALIFORNIA 
PIONEER 
Mrs. J. Dean, of Moneta, 
California, first importer 
of the new Millet and 
Denis seedlings, which 
are most successful in 
that warm climate 
MISS GRACE STURTEVANT 
Repeatedly awarded recogni- 
tion by the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society, Miss 
Sturtevant yields place to none 
as a raiser of seedlings. Among 
her many fine varieties some of 
the loveliest are Afterglow, B. 
Y. Morrison, Queen Caterina, 
© Bachrach 
