38 
March, 1920 
Ofye, Slower (Brower 
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The American Iris Society. 
T HE American Iris Society is a 
reality with already an enrollment 
of over two hundred and fifty- 
members and we hope to double 
this number before the first Annual 
meeting in the spring, when each mem- 
ber in person or by mail may vote on 
the election of officers and be repre- 
sented in the questions of policy still 
awaiting decision. 
i The American Iris Society organiza- 
tion meeting was in “The Mansion’’ at 
the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx 
Park, New York City, at eleven o’clock, 
January 29th, 1920. There were about 
seventy persons present. Among them 
were: 
Miss Hazel Andrews, Leonard Barron, 
Prof. A. C. Beal, Miss Mary C. Bell, Lee R. 
Bonnewitz, Mrs. Bonnewitz and Miss Alice 
Bonnewitz, Mrs. Edwin P. Bond, K. B. Boyn- 
ton, James Boyd, Floyd Bralliar, Mrs. Walter 
Brewster, Dr. and Mrs. N. L. Britton, Mrs. 
Francis S. Cleveland, Mrs. Theodore I. Coe, 
Madison Cooper, Mrs. M. A. Cumbler, Her- 
bert Durand, Martin C. Ebel, Carl Ehrle, 
B. H. Farr, Mrs. Edward Harding, S. G. 
Harris, D. W. Hart, I. S. Hendrickson, T. A. 
Havemeyer, Mrs. J. Edgar Hires, Mrs. L. W. 
Hitchcock, Dr. Marshall A. Howe, Mrs. 
Herbert Johnson, Dr. Geo. E. Kent, Mrs. 
Isaac LaBoiteaux, Mrs. H. G. Lloyd, Mrs. 
Sam Montague, B. Y. Morrison, Geo. V. 
Nash, Mrs. E. D. Nevins, Mrs. Wm. North- 
rup, H. A. Norton, Mrs. Wheeler H. Peck- 
ham, Frank H. Presby, Mrs. Howard Pratt, 
Mrs. H. S. Putnam, Chas. E. S. Rasay, A. P. 
Saunders, Miss T. E. Schindler, George N. 
Smith, Mrs. J. W. Sperry, Mrs. Chas. H. Stout, 
R. S. Sturtevant, Winthrop Thurlow, Mrs. 
Henry G. Wells, Mrs. Alfred A. Whitman, 
Mrs. Louise B. Wilder, Mrs. Chas. Williams 
and John C. Wister. 
Dr. N. L. Britton, director of the 
New York Botanical Garden, welcomed 
the meeting with the following address: 
To the American Iris Society: 
Welcome, on behalf of the Board of Man- 
agers of the New York Botanical Garden, 
with best wishes for the success of the Iris 
Society, and a proffer of cordial cooperation 
in your work. 
It so happens that in the plans for the fur- 
ther development of the New York Botanical 
Garden now in progress, space has been as- 
signed for an extensive Iris garden, on which 
work may be begun in the spring. This site, 
which has already been studied by some of 
your members, and to which, if arctic con- 
ditions were not prevailing we would escort 
you to-day, will provide up to three acres of 
mostly excellent soil, now in sod, partly level 
and moist, partly on a gentle slope to the 
southeast, partly in full sun, partly in half 
shade with a brook running through it, some 
rock outcrop and such pools as may be re- 
quired. 
To carry out a development plan the 
building of perhaps a mile of permanent 
paths will claim first attention in order to 
connect the area with paths already built and 
thus supply circulation for the many thou 
sands of people who will visit and enjoy the 
collection; the regulation of the brook, now 
running mostly underground in an ancient 
stone drain, and the building of pools may 
go forward at the same time, after which the 
planting of the collections may follow. 
Minor architectural features may be supplied 
as occasion permits. 
The cost of the work up to a point where 
planting may commence is not likely to 
exceed $3,000.00 as we have all the natural 
material for the paths within the Garden 
reservation, as well as all ordinary soil re- 
quired. This construction work will all be 
accomplished by the use of a part of our 
Special Development Fund of 1920, now 
being raised by subscription. We have here 
a class of over 40 convalescent soldiers under 
instruction in practical gardening, and they 
will be turned in to help build the Iris 
Garden, as an excellent feature of their 
training. These plantations will be in juxta- 
position to the collections of Rose Mallows 
and of Gladioli. We are confident that the 
development, installation and maintenance 
of this Iris collection will be of immense in- 
terest to all of you, and if it can be made to 
work in with the operation of your society 
the pleasure will be ours. 
This development will be placed under the 
immediate supervision of Dr. Henry Allen 
Gleason, Assistant Director of the New York 
Botanical Garden, who has already been in 
consultation with members of the Iris Society 
and who made the preliminary arrangement 
for today’s meeting; I much regret that he is 
confined to his house by illness at this time. 
His duties in today’s meeting have been re- 
ferred to Mr. Geo. V. Nash, Head Gardener. 
You have chosen a wonderfully varied and 
entrancingly beautiful genus of plants to 
specialize upon; the important economic uses 
of Iris roots in medicine will, of course, not 
be lost sight of. 
The botanical and horticultural literature 
of the genus is enormous, species of Iris oc- 
curing in every flora of the north temperate 
zone. 
Please feel free to use the library of this 
institution on the upper floor of the Museum 
Building, for any references any of you may 
desire to make at any time. The only bad 
spot in this literature that I recall is the ap- 
plication by Linnaeus (and therefore un- 
changeable under nomenclatorial laws) of 
the name Iris Germanica to the Fleur-de-Lis, 
the beautiful plant emblem of beautiful 
France; this is enough to make one want to 
throw rules for plant names into the discard! 
Dr. Britton introduced Mr. James 
Boyd of Philadelphia, as chairman of 
the meeting. Mr. Boyd then appointed 
Mr. A. P. Saunders as recording sec- 
retary of the meeting. 
Mr. Boyd after expressing his thanks 
to Dr. Britton introduced Mr. John C. 
Wister of Philadelphia, who read ex- 
tracts from the proposed program for 
the Iris Society which was published in 
the January number of The Flower 
Grower. 
Following the reading of this pro- 
gram Mr. Boyd appointed a committee 
consisting of Mr. Wister, Mr. Farr, and 
Mr. Thurlow to consider the outline as 
presented by Mr. Wister and to report 
upon any changes or amplifications. 
He then introduced Dr. A. C. Beal of 
Cornell, who read the proposed consti- 
tution as a whole. It was then taken 
up for discussion, article by article, 
and after many amendments and 
motions this constitution was turned 
over to a committee consisting of Dr. 
Beal, Mr. Saunders, and Mr. Sturte- 
vant, with instructions to re-draft it 
and to present the revised text at the 
afternoon session. 
Following this, Mr. Boyd appointed 
a nominating committee for temporary 
officers to act until the annual meeting 
in the spring, as follows: Mr. Lee R. 
Bonnewitz, Mr. Madison Cooper, Mrs. 
H. G. Lloyd, Mr. B. H. Farr, and Mr. 
George V. Nash. 
After the appointment of this com- 
mittee, recess was declared and the 
luncheon was provided by the New 
York Botanical Garden. After lunch- 
eon, the constitution as revised by the 
committee, was read by Dr. Beal and 
approved with the exception of certain 
clauses, concerning associate and af- 
filiated members which will be acted 
upon at the annual meeting (to be pub- 
lished in the April issue.) 
With the adoption of the constitution 
the nominating committee proposed 
the following: 
President— John C. Wister. 
Vice-President— Wm. Peterson. 
Secretary — R. S. Sturtevant. 
Treasurer— Frank H. Presby. 
Regional Vice-Presidents — 
For the East- B. Y. Morrison, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 
Central— Mrs. Samuel H. Taft, Cincinnati. 
Western — T. A. Kenning, Minneapolis. 
Pacific— S. B. Mitchel, Berkeley. 
South — Floyd Bralliar, Nashville. 
Canada— Dr. F. E. Bennett, St. Thomas. 
Directors— James Boyd, B. H. Farr, Dr. 
H. A. Gleason, I. S. Hendrickson, H. A. 
Norton, E. C. Shaw. 
It was moved that the secretary of 
the meeting cast a ballot for these offi- 
cers and they were declared elected. 
Mr. Boyd then turned the chair over 
to Mr. Wister. 
Mr. Beal brought forward a plea to 
establish at Cornell a trial garden of 
the Society and after long discussion on 
this matter it was turned over to the 
Board of Directors with directions to 
cooperate in every way possible with 
Cornell but to establish the complete 
collection at Bronx Park. 
An unanimous vote of thanks was 
tendered to Dr. Britton who, in behalf 
of the New York Botanical Garden, has 
extended such generous hospitality and 
hearty cooperation to the new Iris 
Society. 
The meeting then adjourned. 
(Signed) A. P. Saunders, 
Secretary of the Meeting. 
I wish to thank Mr. Saunders for the 
above minutes and also for his assist- 
ance in discussion. His experience was 
of great value. 
Although there has not yet been time 
to receive acceptances from the ap- 
pointees on the various committees cer- 
tain matters under consideration may 
prove of interest and in many ways we 
need the personal interest of every 
member of the Society. 
At the short Directors’ meeting, The 
Flower Grower was adopted as the 
official organ of the Society for the 
current year; and it was provisionally 
planned that the Annual meeting 
should take place in Philadelphia about 
June 1st in connection with an ex- 
hibition for the East. 
Members are earnestly requested to 
