92 
| Northwestern Peony j 
\ and Iris Society, f 
What can be more beautiful and 
bring one in closer touch with the 
beauty of nature than to visit a Peony 
or Iris field when in full bloom. The 
massive and stately Peony will doubt- 
less overshadow any other flower and 
while it possesses many beautiful col- 
ors and combinations of shading, it 
cannot vie with the Iris in color combi- 
nations, for here we have the lavender, 
purple with its various shades, gold, 
with combinations of maroon and pur- 
ple, delicate to deep blue, bronze and 
yellow and countless variations of 
shade and color that almost defy ade- 
quate description. 
It was my pleasure early this spring 
to visit W. E. Fryer of Mantorville, 
Minn., who has developed many fine 
new varieties of Irises. As we passed 
back and forth through the field of new 
seedlings it was easy to understand the 
enthusiasm and deep interest that was 
manifested by my host as we viewed 
for the first time some new creation 
that he had been eagerly watching to 
make its appearance. I was particu- 
larly impressed with the vigor of the 
Glory strain. He has originated a 
number of very fine Irises of the 
Glory strain that are among the very 
best I have seen. Among these might 
be mentioned Fryer’s Glory, Mrs. W. E. 
Fryer, A. M. Brand, A. E. Kunderd, 
Red Glory, Minnesota, Clarence Wedge, 
and many others. I found Mr. Fryer a 
very severe critic, and a flower that he 
passes to be named and propagated 
must pass a high standard of excellency 
or possess some element or character- 
istic that makes it out of the ordinary. 
I am free to confess that the Peony 
has appealed to me more than any 
other flower and has been sort of a 
hobby with me, but the Iris, both the 
standard varieties and the more recent 
introductions, are rapidly being recog- 
nized and are finding their place in 
every well arranged garden and land- 
scape planting scheme, as they fill in a 
gap that no other flower can fill. Fairy, 
with a perfume that is entrancing, a 
delicate coloring that defies adequate 
description, still haunts me with its 
beauty. Dorothea, milky white, tinged 
lilac, with six falls resembling a Japa- 
nese Iris struck my fancy, as did Rose 
Unique, one of Mr. Farr’s seedlings, a 
delicate blush rose, Mrs. H. Darwin, 
with standards pure white and falls 
slightly veined ; Oriflamme, with stand- 
ards of bright blue and falls of dark 
purple, and, space permitting, I might 
name many others equally good. 
Miss Grace Sturtevant of the Glen 
Road Iris Gardens, Wellesley Farms, 
Mass., has originated many wonderful 
Irises which may be found listed in de- 
scriptive circulars and catalogues issued 
by eastern growers. They will be 
gladly welcomed in the west where 
they are not so well known at the pres- 
ent time, stock of many of the varie- 
ties being very rare and limited. 
Bear in mind that Irises may be 
planted in August and September to best 
Slower (Brower 
advantage and that Peonies will do best 
if planted in September and early Octo- 
ber. They can, however, be planted 
any time before the ground freezes, but 
should be protected the first winter un- 
til they get a chance to become estab- 
lished. Give your nurseryman a chance 
by placing your orders as early as pos- 
sible. Many new catalogs of both the 
Peony and Iris are being received by 
the writer and there is one consolation 
to note that the prices have not in- 
creased to any great extent, most 
prices remaining stable notwithstand- 
ing the fact that it costs much more to 
produce plants due to the high cost of 
labor and materials. Let’s make our 
gardens resplendent next year with 
Peony and Iris bloom by liberal plant- 
ings this fall, and experience a closer 
affiliation with the beauties of nature. 
W. F. Christman, Sec’y. 
Massachusetts Horticultural 
Society Exhibition. 
The exhibition at Horticultural Hall, 
Boston, August 9 and 10, was not as 
large as last year but the quality was 
far superior. Although there were no 
prizes for commercial growers they 
were well represented, and the exhibits 
of H. E. Meader and S. E. Spencer 
were as good as ever shown there. 
Mr. Meader was awarded a Silver 
Medal on his display in which Myrtle 
and Lilywhite had a conspicuous posi- 
tion. He was also given a First Certifi- 
cate of Merit on Lilac Royal, a large 
vase of which was shown. 
Mr. Spencer was also given a Silver 
Medal for his display and a Cultural 
Certificate for the excellent quality of 
the bloom shown in which Mrs. Dr. 
Norton, Pink Perfection, Peace and 
Mrs. Pendleton were prominent. He 
was also given three "Honorable Men- 
tions” on new seedlings. 
B. Hammond Tracy showed a large 
number of vases of Primulinus Hybrids 
with good effect. 
The Boston Cut Flower Co. made an 
elegant display of Gladioli arranged in 
baskets and was given a Silver Medal. 
J. K. Alexander had a large display 
of Gladioli and Phlox and received a 
Bronze Medal. 
Thomas M. Proctor had a good dis- 
play including well grown Loveliness. 
C. W. Brown showed 50 varieties of 
new seedlings and was given an "Hon- 
orable Mention” on two new whites. 
Mr. A. E. Kunderd made a good dis- 
play and was awarded First Class Cer- 
tificates of Merit on the two varieties 
Salmon Beauty and Peach Rose. 
In the regular classes for amateurs 
Mr. A. L. Stephen carried off the hon- 
ors winning first in five classes of six 
vases, six varieties, one spike of each 
in white, pink, red, yellow and laven- 
der. 
The class for Primulinus Hybrids was 
won by Faulkner Farms, and the best 
single spike of seedlings by E. M. 
Brewer. 
The wonderful spikes of Europa, 
grown by A. L. Stephen, attracted the 
most attention of anything in the 
show. C. W. Brown. 
September, 1919 
Fifty Years Acquaint- 
ance with the Gladiolus. 
[ lf / ritten expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
BY HENRY C. ECKERT. 
( Continued from August issue.) 
Even the wet seasons, when rain 
comes down in torrents overflooding 
the land as it did this year in May and 
June, are not always favorable for 
Gladiolus culture. Some of the very 
best varieties like Prince of Wales and 
Halley, if the soil is too wet, will get 
diseased and die, and this has been 
my experience this season. 
My object was at first to pro- 
duce flowers for the cut flower trade, 
and only three years ago I started to 
raise corms for sale. Two events hap- 
pened about ten years ago which were 
more the cause of my entering the 
trade than anything else. These two 
events which aroused my enthusiasm 
and interest in Gladiolus culture, were 
the advent of Kunderd’s Mrs. Frank 
Pendleton, which even now stands at 
the front as one of the most beautiful 
Gladioli in the trade. The other event 
was the report I read of Wilhelm Pfitzer 
of Stuttgart, Germany, with the great 
show he made in London with his pure 
white Europa and other hybrids, beat- , 
ing the English and French exhibitors, 
but with me his Europa was a complete 
failure, as it cannot endure the trying 
climate of Southern Illinois, and what 
a valuable variety it would be if it had 
the vigor and constitution of his yel- 
low production, Schwaben. For the 
first corm of Mrs. Frank Pendleton I 
paid one dollar, and the beauty, size of 
flower, and the vigorous plant, were a 
surprise to me, and I doubt if Mr. 
Kunderd has produced another variety 
that has so many good points as this 
one of his first productions. 
Well, I got the Gladiolus fever bad, 
and started with orders for seeds and 
bulblets, which I must report as com- 
plete failures. I ordered several ounces 
of seed from Wilhelm Pfitzer, and as 
Gladiolus seed is very light there were 
several thousand seeds. They came 
out nice but when the hot summer sun 
came, they blasted away and only 
about six were left in the Fall, which 
with the exception of one were nothing 
extra, that single good one is the best 
yellow I ever saw, but it does not in- 
crease and after six years’ planting it is 
still a single bulb. My planting of 
bulblets was no better in the beginning, 
only a few sprouting, till I received the 
information from a northern grower 
to put them in hot water five or six 
days. By this process most of the varie- 
ties came out well, but there are some 
sorts that do not respond even to the 
hot water treatment. 
[ To be Continued. ] 
We were a long time in getting index 
for Volume V The Flower Grower, 
but it is now ready and can be had by 
all subscribers for the asking. Bound 
Volume V is also ready for distribution. 
Those who placed advance orders have 
doubtless received it before this time. 
The price is $1.75 postage prepaid. 
