48 
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1 The 
Iris Seedlings. 
[ Written expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
Wouldn’t it make you tired to plant 
10,000 Iris seed one inch apart in the 
row ? I have reference to Mr. Rollins’ 
article on sowing the seed, and trans- 
planting the baby seedlings. My way 
is thus, and take your choice : 
The seed are sown in shallow drills 
the width of a medium sized hoe, and 
sown forty or fifty to the foot of row. 
I generally stratify the seed in moist 
sand as soon as cleaned, and sow in 
September or October. 
The following July the little fellows 
are transplanted, but not six inches 
apart each way, but in rows at least 
three feet apart, and the plants one 
foot apart in the rows. They can be 
left where planted until all have 
bloomed, and each one be separate 
from its neighbor, but how would they 
be if planted six by six inches ? There 
would be a solid mass of Iris, and a 
conglomeration of many colors, and 
impossible to separate one from the 
other. 
The first Iris seedlings that I raised 
the seed was dropped about four inches 
apart in the rows, and 1 found it a very 
tedious job to do. These were left 
where planted until they bloomed, but 
it was impossible to keep each one 
separate when they were transplanted, 
and some of them it was necessary to 
rogue afterwards. 
I believe that the question of germi- 
nation is as much in the condition of 
the soil as in the seed. Last season I 
had an object lesson, and it showed me 
that the seed should not be allowed to 
become dry before or after planting. 
My seedling rows were 18 rods long, 
and at one end they were covered with 
a snowdrift that kept the ground 
thoroughly soaked when it was dry the 
balance of the rows. About every seed 
germinated where the snowdrift was, 
but in other parts of the rows there 
would not be a plant for two or three 
feet, and they were all sown at the 
same time, and under the same condi- 
tions — 40 or 50 to the foot. 
These were all transplanted last July 
and in October many plants showed as 
many as four divisions, and I never 
saw so large plants before when so 
young. A great many of these will 
bloom this June. 
Do not disturb your seedling bed 
after you dig the seedlings for many 
seed that failed to germinate the first 
season will germinate the second year. 
Last season we dug over 300 from a 
little patch of seedlings that were all 
dug the year before. 
Willis E. Fryer. 
Fleur-de-Lis. 
THE NATIONAL FLOWER OF FRANCE. 
I notice with great satisfaction that 
some Iris growers, specialists and deal- 
ers, have been very progressive in one 
respect in that they have cut out the 
Slower (Brower 
Iris. 
word “ German ” in describing or re- 
ferring to the bearded or flag Iris, 
Fleur-de-Lis, or Lily of France. A few 
growers have renamed it Liberty Iris, 
which is a happy thought and perhaps 
more appropriate than calling it Ger- 
man. The French long ago adopted 
the Fleur-de-Lis as their national flower 
and glorified it. The bearded Iris is 
widely known as the Fleur-de-Lis and it 
might be prudent to let it go at that 
for awhile. It is much fairer to France 
than to call it Liberty Iris. Some spe- 
cialists have even cut out Germanica, 
as the botanical classification, which is 
also a good idea, for just as soon as it 
is referred to as Iris Germanica, people 
will call it German, a natural result. 
It is not German in origin. It was a 
mistake originally to call the species 
Germanica, and there has been con- 
fusion ever since. If the bearded Iris 
should be named after any country it 
certainly should be France, for it ap- 
pears that there have been more named 
varieties derived from France than 
from any other country, certainly, at 
least, as many. Not to give the French 
word Fleur-de-Lis a prominent place or 
specifically mention it as a heading, 
would take from France the universal 
renown of being known as the home of 
the most beautiful species of Iris. So 
why not “ let well enough alone,” and 
why not let France retain this honor 
by restoring the poetical, romantic and 
charming French word of Fleur-de-Lis? 
“ O flower de luce, bloom on, and let the river 
Linger to kiss thy feet ? 
O flower of song, bloom on, and make for- 
ever 
The world more fair and sweet.” 
— Longfellow. 
H. W. Groschner. 
1 Northwestern Peony f 
and Iris Society. \ 
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A PLEA FOR THE IRIS. 
The following very interesting paper 
has been prepared by our Assistant 
Secretary, Mr. T. A. Kenning, and I 
take pleasure in presenting it to our 
readers : 
“ The indifference of so many people 
to the charms of the Iris is a continual 
surprise to the Iris fan. Even among the 
members of The Northwestern Peony 
& Iris Society, there are many who 
give this beautiful flower scant atten- 
tion. People who really love flowers 
have said to me that they did not care 
for the Iris. 
I am persuaded that this indifference 
arises from a lack of acquaintance with 
the newer varieties of wonderful beauty 
and the long period of bloom that may 
be had by a proper selection of varie- 
ties that extends from April until July. 
The Peony is a glorious flower and I 
am adding to my collection each year, 
but to me the Iris has a charm and 
May, 1919 
etherial beauty not possessed by any 
other flower. The range of the coloring 
is wonderful and new shades are con- 
stantly being brought out by hybrid- 
izers. People have stood before Her 
Majesty, Jacquiniana and other good 
varieties in my garden and exclaimed, 
‘ Why I never knew Irises were that 
color.’ Blue and yellow marked the 
beginning and the end of their concep- 
tion of Iris colors. 
The dwarf Pumila Iris is one of the 
first flowers that blooms in my garden. 
After a few warm days in April it sud- 
denly opens its welcome blossoms and 
is prized the more because there are so 
few other flowers to compare with it. 
This variety can be had in a number of 
colors. 
There is a new race of Intermediate 
Irises which bridges the period between 
the Pumilas and the German Irises. 
It is a cross between these two varie- 
ties and is intermediate in height as 
well as in blooming period. There are 
some very good things in this group. 
The main show is on when the Ger- 
man Irises bloom in May. I don’t 
know who put the German tag on this 
group but it wasn’t ‘Made in Germany.’ 
The real Iris ‘ Bug ’ divides this group 
into sections such as Neglecta, Squalens 
and a few others that aren’t quite so 
bad. These names are hardly fair to 
such beautiful flowers and it is just as 
well to forget them unless you are a 
collector. This group comes in every 
color, shade, and combination of colors 
and there are hundreds of named va- 
rieties to choose from. One variety, 
Mrs. Alan Gray is said to bloom again 
in August but I don’t know this from 
experience. 
The Siberian Irises come on in June 
about the time the Germanicas are 
through. They are smaller and more 
delicate looking and there isn’t such an 
embarassing lavishness of varieties as 
there are among the Germanicas, but 
they are very pretty and fill in the 
time until the Japanese come on in 
what should be a flood of glory. I say, 
should be, because my sad experience 
is that they don’t. Mine have only 
bloomed once in the four or five years 
that I have had them. When they do 
bloom they are beautiful beyond de- 
scription, and I hope on year by year. 
Perhaps their location is too dry, for 
while they want their feet dry in 
winter they can stand a lot of moisture 
in summer, especially at blooming time. 
The Iris is about the hardiest plant 
we have. I used to have trouble with 
their rotting over winter but found I 
was too good to them and covered 
them too heavily. Now, if I cover 
them at all, it is just with a few corn 
stalks or other coarse material that 
will hold the snow, and I have no more 
trouble. 
One summer I dug up some surplus 
plants and threw them out by the back 
fence. About two weeks’ later, hear- 
ing that a friend wanted some, I went 
out and got them and found them in 
good condition. Few .plants would 
stand such neglect. 
The German Iris seems to enjoy any 
amount of heat and will endure severe 
drought. 
