April, 1920 
desirable in tabulating the worth of any 
variety you may possess and the information 
obtained should prove valuable both to your- 
self and the Society. A copy can be retained 
and the other forwarded to me for assem- 
bling them into a complete report that can be 
presented to our readers. 
The new American Iris Society is now a 
reality and we will hear more of its activities 
from time to time. 
Every member of the Northwestern Peony 
and Iris Society will be furnished in the near 
future with a copy of an article I have pre- 
pared on “Some of the newer Peonies.” This 
article contains a list of something over fifty 
varieties of new seedling Peonies, and while 
some of them have been grown for a few years, 
they are but little known, while others on the 
list will appear for the first time on any list 
and are not yet obtainable due to the scarcity 
of stock. The varieties listed are all of 
American origination and included in the list 
will be found a wide variation in coloring 
and type of flower. From yellow to darkest 
maroon, from pure white through the various 
shades of pink and flesh and many of the in- 
termediate colors and combinations of color, 
selections can be made from the list that will 
be representative of some of the very best 
Peonies grown. In compiling this list I must 
confess that I was agreeably surprised and 
pleased with the large number of new Peonies 
that have been produced during the past few 
years, and the list presented does not con- 
tain them all by any manner of means. 
Forcing Dormant Twigs. 
By Bertha Berbert- Hammond. 
[ ll'rittrn expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
“The alder by the river 
Shakes out her powd’ry curls 
The willow buds in silver 
For little boys and girls.” 
—Celia Taxter. 
The pastime of “rushing the season” 
by forcing, for indoor decoration, dor- 
mant branches of fruit trees and twigs 
of flowering hardy shrubs is so fasci- 
nating that nature lovers should be 
familiar with the process. Those who 
have never experimented in this direc- 
tion and who can obtain the material 
from the wealth of forest, field, orchard, 
or garden, may with little effort 'and 
no expense, have spring flowers long 
before the outdoor blooming time. 
A ramble through the woods in quest 
of bundles of pussy willow, dogwood 
and branches of other flower-bearing 
trees and shrubs will afford much pleas- 
ure and also an excellent opportunity 
to study nature at close range at the 
time when the plant world is begin- 
ning to wake from its long winter’s 
sleep, and when 
“Roused from long and lonely hours 
Under snow drifts chilly, 
Every little buried bud, 
Every wild flower of the wood, 
Sings the dear Lord’s praises.” 
— Lucy Larcom. 
In cutting branches, great care should 
be exercised so as not to injure the 
trees and shrubs that give without stint 
of their treasures. The conservation 
of the forest should always be kept well 
in mind. 
“In that beautiful, beautiful wood, 
Whatever you pluck 
Leave some for good luck. 
Wherever you look and whatever you find 
Leave something behind.” 
—Juliana Horalia Ewing. 
Ol)e jftower (Brower 
From the orchard secure twigs of 
apple, plum and peach trees, and from 
the garden, branches of forsythia, flow- 
ering almond, flowering quince, and any 
other desirable shrubs that may be ob- 
tainable. Arrange the branches artis- 
tically, each variety separately, in jar- 
dinieres, tall wide mouthed Japanese 
urns or vases, which have been nearly 
filled with soft water. Put a lump or 
two of charcoal in each receptacle to 
help to keep the water in good condi- 
tion and place the vases where the twigs 
will have a warm, sunny exposure. 
In a short time the buds, responding 
to the effects of warmth and sunshine, 
will begin to swell and show active signs 
of bursting from their imprisonment. 
The length of time required to force 
bloom depends upon the variety of twigs 
selected and on the temperature of the 
room in which they are kept. They 
will naturally develop more rapidly in 
a warm, moist atmosphere. Blossoms 
of fruit trees, are rather slow in matur- 
ing, but the catkins of the willow and 
the golden bells of the forsythia develop 
with astonishing rapidity and are 
promptly followed by clusters of delicate 
green leaves; while at the base of the 
branches little white rootlets may be 
found projecting into the water in the 
vase. Thus in forcing some kinds of 
twigs, besides the pleasure afforded by 
the welcome blossoms that brought an 
advance breath of spring into the home, 
one may secure sturdy, well-rooted 
plants, that may be set out among the 
shrubbery. 
One of our subscribers has suggested 
that only one thing is lacking to make 
The Flower Grower perfect and that 
is a bird department. While we have 
no intention of establishing a per- 
manent bird department, yet next 
month we expect to print very com- 
plete information about the red bird 
referred to by Mr. Fryer in Wayside 
Ramblings last month. 
61 
Young Onions. 
When the days have begun to lengthen. 
And the wind blows warm from the south 
With a hint of spring, 
A curious sting 
Seems to settle within my mouth. 
And I long to see the earth blossom 
With flowers— white, pink and red, 
And I want to pick. 
Where the plants grow thick, 
A few from the green onion bed. 
I’ll shed “glad rags” for the overalls, 
And hasten to dig up the soil. 
And drop in the seed 
That will help to feed, 
And reward me for all of my toil. 
Some surely will think me a “rough-neck,” 
And very plebeian, I fear ; 
The love of my youth 
Still lingers, forsooth, — 
Young onions in spring of the year. 
Prize Offers Should be Divided. 
There are doubtless many of our 
readers who will donate prizes for 
flower shows this year. Don’t forget 
that such prizes should be sub-divided 
at least three times. Don’t simply offer 
a prize for a certain thing, but offer a 
first prize, a second prize, and at least 
a third prize; if not a third and fourth. 
While the principles of sub-dividing 
prize offers are pretty well approved 
and understood by those most experi- 
enced at the flower shows, yet donors 
of prizes are inclined to stick to the old 
methods of only dividing into first and 
second, and comparatively few divide 
into three prizes or more. The object 
in sub-dividing is so apparent that we 
need not take space to explain it here. 
There is no doubt but what the files 
of The Modern Gladiolus Grower 
(4 volumes) and The Flower Grower 
contain more facts and information 
regarding the Gladiolus than all the 
other sources of information combined 
can furnish. This should make the 
bound volumes which we are offering 
in our advertising department valu- 
able to Gladiolus growers. 
—Spring Poet. 
Iris time in the garden of Mrs. William Porter Morgan at her home “Oaklee” (Tennessee.) 
Mrs. Morgan writes that this photograph was taken only sixteen months after planting. 
