TIP-TOP IRISES AND PEONIES 
This catalog, as well as being a recension of all the 
varieties we grow, is also a guide for visitors to our 
gardens. The location of each variety is given on the 
following pages in the end column preceding price. 
We invite you to “come and see,” especially Rev. 
Storer’s seedlings, which are not described. They are 
marked “new” because they are not registered with the 
American Iris Society, and we have not been able to 
observe and judge them sufficiently to adequately iden¬ 
tify them. Ratings on these give a clue to our personal 
evaluation, but are in no way official. 
Ratings on varieties introduced by others, while offi¬ 
cial, are old, and therefore not a reliable index to the 
value of the flower. We grow many old varieties be¬ 
cause they possess some peculiar charm not found in 
the newer kinds. Even old Honorabile, intruded from 
France nearly a hundred years ago, and possessed by 
everyone who has any Irises at all. We treasure it, as 
we do the common dandelion, for being such a joyous- 
looking harbinger of spring-time,—and the perfect pen¬ 
ciling of Mme. Chereau is still in a class by itself. So 
we might go on with others. 
We expect to add many of the new ones, since interest 
in the wonderful kaleidoscopic variations of irises never 
wanes and every year brings new revelations of beauty. 
Most of the Irises listed here have a later and longer 
blooming period than the common kinds. 
The classification following each name, and date of 
introduction, is from the American Iris Society and the 
American Peony Society. Every lover of these flowers 
ought to be a member. The dues are small in compari¬ 
son to the value of the interesting bulletins received 
every two or three months. 
S. signifies “Standards,” or upright petals of flowers 
on Irises. 
F. signifies “Falls,” or large lower petals of flowers. 
The numbers sometimes appearing in connection with 
color names refer to plates in “A Dictionary of Color,” 
by Maerz and Paul, the latest and best guide to color 
nomenclature. 
Hybridizers are busy all over the world, and many 
varieties have been imported for American gardens. 
For example, those from Germany are marked with the 
originator’s initials, “G. & K”; from France, “Carp,” 
“Ml.” “Veird.,” ‘Vill.”; from Holland, “Gey,” “Van T.”; 
from England, “Bun.,” “Fos.,” “Mur.,” “Wal.,” etc. 
Further details are given in the bulletins of the A. I. S. 
Rev. Jacob Storer’s interest in irises dates back to 
the early days when hybridizers were few and the iris 
was considered a very common flower. Tho retired 
from the ministry in the Reformed Church, which he 
served for twenty-five years, from 1883 to 1908, his 
garden was always an engrossing hobby. At the earli¬ 
est opportunity, he became a member of the American 
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