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Ctssumes Tleiv ^yplendol in these HeOel\j Ctmcenas 
A limited group possessing white or near-white 
standards and blue, pink, or purple falls, the amoenas 
hold great promise of future development. 
^Already we have several excellent ones, the most 
striking being the sensational Shah Jehan - in many 
respects the most unusual iris listed in this catalog. 
Named for that lavish emperor of India who ruled 
three centuries ago from the famous Peacock Throne, 
Shah Jehan is itself an extravaganza of color, con¬ 
taining no less than seven distinctly different hues. 
The standards are a delicate creamy-buff faintly 
edged lavender; the falls are rich and magnificent, 
quickly blending from a light fawn at the haft to 
a glowing copper, then to a rich deep chestnut. This 
in turn changes to a gorgeous tone of lustrous vel¬ 
vety purple — the dominant color of the falls. Im¬ 
perceptibly this rich purple changes to a softer plum 
or magenta and this finally to a lavender edge which 
repeats the margining of the standards. The beard 
is of the richest orange. The entire effect, for all the 
extraordinary range of color (with which no other 
iris or perhaps no other flower can compare) is subtly 
harmonious and inveigling. Shah Jehan has been 
called a “study iris” —Certainly one can look at 
it by the hour and find ever-new beauty in its opu¬ 
lent Oriental coloring — beauty which will long 
afterward “flash upon the inward eye.” 
This jewel among irises is unusually tall and well 
branched as well as large and perfectly formed. An 
exceptionally late blooming-season adds to its 
value. . . . Sticklers for terminology might call 
Shah Jehan a blended amoena. It is the hardest of 
all iris to classify, being almost equally contrasty 
blend, blended amoena, or pastel variegata. 
Another iris of this amoena group is the cream 
and watermelon-rose Marquita. Its luminous cream 
standards, “silken, hushed, and chaste”, are the 
last word in serene but warm exquisiteness. The 
watermelon-rose falls are veined rather than solidly 
colored. . . . Dorothy Dietz, may be classed as 
another superior amoena. It is easily visualized as 
a B. Y. Morrison type (white and purple) much im¬ 
proved in size and coloring. 
Tleiv 
Whether the iris will ever reach spectrum red is 
still an open question. A considerable portion of 
the efforts of modern hybridizers has been directed 
toward this goal, however, and recent developments 
have been remarkable in the advances made. Cer¬ 
tainly the rich velvety wine-reds, copper-reds and 
near-crimsons already achieved are among the most 
handsome of modern Iris. To those familiar with 
only the old “squalens” type of twenty years ago, 
these new reds will indeed be a revelation. 
In addition to Beowulf and Marco Polo (described 
on page 1) two splendid iris vying for honors are 
Joycette and Ethel Peckham. The latter is the larger, 
but Joycette excels in form. Largest of all the reds 
and one of the largest of all iris is the gargantuan 
War Eagle. In tone it is more subdued and coppery 
than the two preceding. 
Spokan is an iris in still another tone of red. Very 
coppery, it has the brilliant color of gay King Tut, 
but is several times as large. It will make one of 
the brightest spots in any iris planting. Two of the 
earlier reds that are still important are the self¬ 
colored Dauntless and the very similar Indian Chief. 
The latter is more of a bicolor and an earlier bloomer. 
Both are of the famous Dominion race and have the 
finer points of this excellent strain of iris. . . . 
Besides producing Indian Chief, Dr. Ayres has given 
us another fine red in the newer Cheerio. Bright and 
upstanding, this excellent iris has tones of cherry 
red with darker velvety falls. Another colorful, 
sprightly iris is Sir Launcelot —a real color gem. 
Of flashy chestnut red, it attracts the eye and draws 
many a second glance in passing. . . . We have 
always liked the rich velvety brown tones of Grace 
Sturtevant. A conspicuous bright orange beard lends 
much distinction to this fine iris. 
When we consider that the now outmoded Am- 
bassadeur was a sensational advance in reds only a 
decade ago, one can marvel at the progress being 
made in iris breeding. The improvement in a quarter 
of a century is relatively as great as the difference 
between a 1912 model car and one of the present 
day. For the uninitiated truly a treasure field of 
enjoyment and pleasure awaits discovery. 
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