September, 1920 
Then, in addition to the tall June-flower- 
ing Irises of the Germanica group, there is 
the dwarf I. pumila, flowering quite early 
and not more than a few inches high, though 
with much larger blooms than one would 
expect from the size of the plants. These 
are suitable for the front of the border or 
for the rock garden. 
The above mentioned are all easily grown 
species, but by no means exhaust the list of 
Irises which can be grown in any garden. 
It is such a fascinating family that the more 
anyone gets to know of the various kinds 
the more anxious will he be to try some of 
those more difficult ones which are not 
everybody’s plants, but will readily respond if 
their needs are studied.— Gardening Illus- 
trated. (English.) 
Someone has said that the Iris should 
not be planted in rich soil and that no 
manure should be used. The Iris in 
common with other plants needs lib- 
eral treatment. Although it probably 
will not stand fresh manure, well rotted 
manure applied in not too liberal 
quantities and not too close to the plants 
will be as beneficial to the Iris as to 
other flowers. However, the Iris will 
do pretty well in a lean soil, but this 
does not mean that it will not do better 
where the soil is moderately rich. 
Slower (Brower 
varieties and has such a charming, delicate 
combination of color, that it at once appeals 
as an unusual flower. It is a dwarf grow- 
ing variety but produces very large bloom. 
Stock is very limited. The texture of the 
bloom resembles crepe paper, but lasts ex- 
tremely well as a cut flower. 
The writer had the pleasure early in July 
of visiting the garden of our Vice President, 
Mr. H. J. Bartholmey, and I had often won- 
dered how he grew such a variety of flowers 
on a city lot. I should say two lots, as he 
has purchased an adjoining lot to plant his 
surplus. He has some beautiful flowers but 
space prevents my going into detail here. 
He surely utilizes every inch of space to the 
very best possible advantage and I would like 
to have him tell the readers of this article 
some time how he does it. I do not wonder 
now why he has so many converts to our 
Society, for after seeing his garden and 
learning the possibilities of a cjty lot for the 
planting of beautiful flowers, it is hard for 
anyone to resist making a similar attempt. 
In company with Mr. Bartholmey I had the 
delightful pleasure of meeting Congressman 
James R. Mann and the added opportunity of 
being personally conducted through his gar- 
den. In this garden can be found every good 
Peony that is procurable and many that are 
not to be had at the present time as there 
are new varieties growing in this garden of 
which only a very limited few have been 
spared by the originator and it will be some 
years before a sufficient supply will be propa- 
gated for general distribution. Congressman 
Mann has a very complete record of his 
plantings that I was very much impressed 
with. He has a double check on all opera- 
tions of planting that will prevent errors 
that are quite likely to be encountered in 
large plantings. Both a book record and a 
card index are employed. My only regret 
was the limited time at my disposal that 
prevented a longer stay. I wanted to visit 
the gardens of many of our Chicago mem- 
bers but found it impossible to do so. 
Would greatly appreciate a letter from 
any of our members giving their experiences 
in the raising of Peonies and Iris. Whether 
successful or not, let them come and we 
may be able to help you. That’s our de- 
sire and one of the aims of the Society. 
Crinums. 
[ Written expressly for The Flower Grower. ] 
Crinums belong to the Amaryllis 
family. The bulbs have long necks 
and grow to be very large. The leaves 
are very wide and long, growing out 
something like the leaves on a stalk of 
corn. 
They are summer blooming bulbs 
and are easily carried through the win- 
ter, needing very little moisture, but as 
much warmth and light as possible. 
During their growing period they re- 
quire a sunny position, plenty of water 
and an occasional application of some 
kind of fertilizer. They bloom some- 
times two or three times during the 
summer, throwing up bud stalks simi- 
lar to an Amaryllis, crowned with large 
clusters of buds. 
Three hybrid Crinums obtained in 
California, have given me great pleas- 
ure. Two were a delicate blush pink 
with a deeper pink stripe through the 
center of the flower. The last and 
most beautiful produced eight blooms 
of the purest waxy white. They were 
as large as an Amaryllis and had a fra- 
grance similar to that of a Lily of the 
Valley. 
Mrs. F. A. Lorenz. 
145 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
Musings. 
-MIIIHIIIIIIIIIHIMIHIHIMIIlIHUIIIIIIIIHIMIIHHIHIIHHIIIIHIHIIIIIIHIIIIIIIHIHHIIIIIIIIMIIlft 
I was once present at a private gather- 
ing when a celebrated phrenologist gave 
a demonstration of his ability to read 
character through the science of phre- 
nology, and in order to prove conclu- 
sively his claims for the unerring ac- 
curacy of the craniognomic system, he 
allowed himself to be blindfolded, de- 
pending entirely on the sense of touch 
for his conclusions. A strange boy, a 
street gamin, was then brought in, when 
the professor was asked to state what 
he found. After feeling his bumps for 
a while and announcing promptly and 
with correctness the various character- 
istics they revealed, he came across a 
depression where the lad’s bump of 
bravery should have been located, and 
said, “I find this boy bright and fairly 
intelligent, but an awful coward, yes, an 
awful coward. Am I not right, young 
man ?” The boy took exception and im- 
mediately replied, “ Naw, I can lick any- 
t’ing of my size.” “ That’s it — that con- 
firms it,” retorted the professor, “A 
coward is invariably a braggart.” 
It takes more courage than some folks 
have, to say, “ I was mistaken.” Some 
there are who were never heard to say 
it, and never will be, owing to their 
having either a stubborn will or an en- 
larged ego. Ignorance and conceit are 
as inseparable as cowardice and brag- 
gadocio, and it evidences a lack of wis- 
dom when a mind is not open to con- 
viction. There is an old saying of doubt- 
ful origin, “A wise man changes his 
mind, — a fool never.” 
A few years ago I allowed myself to 
be persuaded, influenced by the opin- 
ions of certain nature lovers, that the 
garter snake was a beneficial neighbor, 
and I welcomed him to my garden. I 
once even made a plea for his triendship 
and protection in this column. 
Well, I have changed my mind. 
Henceforth the garter snake and I are 
again at enmity. One day this past 
summer I came across one with a toad, 
half-swallowed, in its mouth. Now, 
anyone who will swallow a toad in my 
presence cannot expect to longer re- 
main my friend. I promptly released 
the toad, gave the snake a good scolding, 
and as it was the first offence I had ob- 
served, let him off with no further 
punishment than throwing him out of 
the garden, down over the river bank. 
A week or so later, while at work in my 
garden, I came across another garter 
snake with a small toad in its mouth, 
partially swallowed. As I rescued this 
toad a righteous wrath rose within me, 
and if you would know what happened 
to that snake, consult the casualty list. 
So the garter snake now goes on my 
black-list, along with the rat, the house- 
fly, the English sparrow and the tom- 
cat. The Glad Philosopher. 
We are at variance with the Glad 
Philosopher on snakes. We don’t like 
them, but we tolerate them. The snake 
has his place in nature. 
1 Northwestern Peony 
and Iris Society. ! 
I W. F. CHRISTMAN, Secretary \ 
September, the month that is generally 
conceded as one of the best for planting 
Peonies, is at hand, and planting activities 
should be well under way. Iris and many 
other perennials can also be planted in 
September with the best results. September 
planting gives an opportunity for the small 
rootlets to form and get well established 
before the winter months put a stop to 
further development, thus enabling the 
plant to give a good account of itself the 
following spring. Nearly every catalogue 
received will give cultural directions for the 
various varieties of flowers so there is little 
excuse for any one not having flowers in 
plentiful quantities. 
I want to urge each reader that has not 
already experienced the pleasure of raising 
Peonies and Iris, to plant at least a few this 
fall. If orders for stock have not already 
been placed, do not hesitate longer, as most 
growers will greatly appreciate early orders 
to enable them to plan accordingly for the 
best interest of their customers. 
Each active member of our Society will 
receive a splendid little booklet on the Read- 
ing Peony Show, prepared and distributed 
by Mr. Lee R. Bonnewitz, the President of 
the American Peony Society and one of the 
most ardent Peony enthusiasts I know of. 
I have read this booklet with a great deal 
of interest and profit and I feel sure our 
membership will do likewise. I wish to 
express to Mr. Bonnewitz through this 
column my appreciation of his kindness in 
sending out this booklet to our members. 
He is also distributing a booklet illustrating 
the Reading Peony Show that can be secured 
by all interested who make a request for the 
same. We note that Mr. Bonnewitz has 
graduated from the amateur class and is 
now a full fledged professional. He has 
one of the largest collections of different 
varieties of Peonies in the United States. 
A splendid picture of the Iris Zua was 
shown on the front cover of the August 
number of The Flower Grower. Those 
that have been permitted the pleasure of 
seeing this flower are very much impressed 
with its beauty. It is so distinct from other 
