(@«alttt| (£arfcettfl 
" "■ ~ - 
that fact and omit them, as they are a very ex¬ 
pensive factor in the making of a catalog. 
The ten years of Quality Gardens have wit¬ 
nessed the development of irises such as were 
never dreamed of when we put out our first 
modest list which at the time embraced about all 
that there was of the iris world. There were no 
big whites or yellows. There was no really good 
approach to red. The delicate and handsomely 
colored blends were just beginning to appear, 
Afterglow being one of the earliest types. 
Michelline Charraire was the one really first 
class white of reliable hardiness and vigor in our 
first catalog. Big whites such as Argentina and 
Edith Cavell we had, but they proved too tender 
or developed other traits which have caused them 
to pass out of the iris picture and out of com¬ 
merce. But new and glorious whites of size and 
height we now have in plenty since breeders have 
learned that whites may be produced readily and 
that they are not merely albinos and matters of 
pure chance. 
Such magnificent things as Purissima, Easter 
Morn, Shasta, and Venus de Milo now grace our 
gardens with many other fine whites so that this 
class of the iris garden is as well furnished as it 
well could be. The older whites, first improve¬ 
ments such as Taj Mahal and the later Snow 
White, still remain worthy occupants of the gar¬ 
den although outdistanced by more modern whites. 
There are many new whites yet to be shown and 
the improvement now to be expected and looked 
for seems possible only in the way of substance 
form and floriferousness. 
The ten years of Quality Gardens have seen 
the arrival of yellows of as fine quality, height 
and size as any other color division of the iris 
family. And the best of the yellows are yet to be 
put on the market according to reports that come 
to us due to the development of W. R. Dykes 
which brought a size and character in yellows 
never before seen. 
The first development came in the lighter 
yellows, starting with Miss Sturtevant’s pioneer¬ 
ing work and the great race of Shekinah yellows. 
The beautiful Chromylla with its fine substance, 
beautiful form and freedom of growth and bloom, 
the shorter and earlier Desert Gold and numerous 
others now grace our gardens where previously 
the old flavescens prevailed. Then came Pluie d’Or, 
a French deep yellow, and Coronation, an even 
deeper and equally fine American yellow. Deepest 
of all is Cayeux’s Eclador. Now we have in the 
offing Lady Paramount from the garden of G. C. 
White in southern California and Prof. Mitchell 
with some new yellows said to be the last word in 
yellows and still more from eastern breeders. 
Development continues farther in this class than 
any other; Cayeux’s gorgeous and huge Helios in 
-- *>•• 
light yellow is one of the modern gems, always 
striking in the garden, of free and easy growth 
and bloom and a valuable parent. Ashtoreth and 
Phebus, both finely branched of pure color and 
good substance, are among the best. 
Gorgeous magnificence marks the develop¬ 
ment in the nearing of the tall bearded iris to 
tones of clear red. This has come in two ap¬ 
proaches, the purple reds, and the brown reds 
with considerable yellow in their makeup. Of the 
former, Red Dominion remains one of the sump¬ 
tuously rich and handsome irises of the world, 
hailed in England as well as in the United States 
when seen in its proper glory with the sun shining 
through it and bringing out its glowing mulberry 
red tones, an iris of magnificent form, heavy sub¬ 
stance and heavy velvety textured falls. 
Dauntless, Numa Rumestan and the newer 
ones from Dr. Ayres such as Burning Bronze and 
Cheerio, are wonderful reds. Indian Chief also 
from Dr. Ayres is one of the very finest of the 
red toned irises and one that will long remain in 
the front rank. It has all the good qualities of a 
garden iris in freedom of bloom and growth. 
Depute Nomblot, one of the finest things ever 
developed by the French wizard, Cayeux, is an 
indispensable iris in the red class, vigorous, up¬ 
standing, and always striking with its gold sprink¬ 
led standards and rich deep red falls. 
A wealth of beauty of the widest variety ap¬ 
pears in the great class of blends, a blend being 
defined as an iris which combines yellow with 
other colors, a difficult class to place within defi¬ 
nite limits and being roughly divided into light 
and dark blends. Some show a predominance of 
yellow. In others it is confined largely to the 
center of the flower and is no more than an under¬ 
tone in the rest of the bloom. 
Among the loveliest of these are Dr. Loomis’ 
stately Spring Maid, a pink and yellow blend 
which has made its way on its merits and is one 
of the most beautiful irises in the garden in the 
low rays of the sun, morning or late afternoon 
and seems made to grow with the reds such as 
Dauntless. 
A new one to be introduced by Quality Gar¬ 
dens this year and, as we think, of surpassing 
beauty, is one of the last iris put in commerce 
by the lamented E. B. Williamson and appro¬ 
priately named Trail’s End. A salmony blend with 
deeper falls of great freedom of bloom, it makes 
a glowing clump in the garden and seems bound 
to be one of the popular new irises. Evolution is 
one of the finest things that M. Cayeux has ever 
turned out and remains one of the most exquis¬ 
itely colored of all the blends. Mr. Morrison’s 
Honeydrop has made its way slowly and upon 
sheer merit alone. It is now highly esteemed as 
one of the loveliest of the yellow toned blends. It 
PACE FOUR 
