THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
293 
k 
SLCHLTARY WALLACE 
III till' (l('atli of S(*ci;olaiy of Agriciilturo Himh y Wal- 
la(*(‘, llio U. S* .1). lost a. capablo head and Uh! 
(‘oiintry a .dejiendal^stM vant. 
Al the gillie of his appointment to the eabinet by Presi- 
d(Mit ]larding|l4 was very^generally recognized as an 
abl(' and suitalde\man for tlie office. 
Tini(‘ has epnliriV^ed tliis. Honestly inb'iil on duty with 
no other end fo S(MV(‘, he made his department fulfill its 
pui'iiose in an ('xecjitional degree. 
The farmei' and horticultural world has lost a practi¬ 
cal, sympathetic and sincere friend. 
RLHTRAND N. FARR 
The liorlicultural world lias suffered a severe loss in 
!h(' death of Bert rand N. Farr, Wyornissing Nurseries 
Co., Wyoniissing, Penna., which occurred October 11, 
1924, at his home. 
Death was due to abnormal blood pressure, culminat¬ 
ing in cerebral hemorrhage. 
Mr. Farr as a nurseryman made an unusual record 
foi‘ himself. In a comparatively short time he built iiji 
a nursery business and became nationally known as an 
authority on hardy plants, especially Iris and Peonies. 
The Wyoniissing Nurseries may be said to have grown 
from Mr. F’arr’s intense love of flowers. He was for- 
nierly in tin' music business in Reading, Pa. 
In 1896 he jiurchased his present home site and erect¬ 
ed the first residence in Wyoniissing, a suburb of Read¬ 
ing. Here he had room to start a real garden. He began 
to collect all the varieties of peonies and irises which 
were then in existence. Gradually his collection grew 
famous and visitors began to arrive from all parts of the 
country. Orders for ])lants from his collection began to 
increase in number. Finally, he sold the music business 
and from then on devoted his entire time to the produc¬ 
tion and distribution of hardy plants. Not long did he 
confine himself to peonies and irises. He acquired ad¬ 
ditional land in Wyoniissing and increased his collections 
to inclmh' standard and novelty varieties of other peren¬ 
nials, roses, dahlias, shrubs, trees and evergreens. 
The details of the business became so numerous and 
involvi'd that in 1916 it was incorporated with a capitali¬ 
zation of •‘jil50,000. Additional land was purchased and 
the nursery proper was established. From this jieriod 
until 1924, the business has increased in volume and rep¬ 
utation. As far back as 1908, Mr. Farr was an impor¬ 
tant iiKMiiber of a committee which spent several summers 
at Cornell University for the purpose of classifying the 
many varieties of peonii's which were then so hope¬ 
lessly duplicated and confused. His knowledge of peon¬ 
ies and irises produced an increasing demand for articles 
on the subjects. Mr. Farr jirepared many articles for 
garden magazines, text books and daily papers. At vari¬ 
ous times he was president of the American Peony So- 
ci(dy and tlu' American Iris Society. His opinions on 
plant matters were sought and accepted by horticultural 
authorities and writers throughout the world, as many 
letters on file, with foreign postmarks, give evidence. lor 
many yeais, and until the lime of his death, hardly a 
month went by without a recjiu'st from some gaiahm (*lub 
for a l('ctur(‘. Most of llu'si' i'('(|uesls, including radio 
talks, Mr. Fan’ was able to a(*ce|)l, and (‘v<mi al the lime 
of his d(‘alh In* was scIkmIiiUmI for such l(‘clur(‘s. 
Not conicnl w ith llu' many variidii's in (‘xislcnci', \1'-. 
f’arr b('gan lo (hwidop ih'w varii'lii's by hybridization and 
cross polh'nizalion. His chi(‘f acconqilisIniK'iils ai'c soiik' 
two score varic'tic's of iiisc's which lu' has naiiK'd and 
which hav(‘ Ihmmi accepicd and listed in catalogs issiu'd 
by otluM- growers Ihroiighoul the country. His (hwclop- 
nu'nts w(‘r(' also ('xtemded to |)(‘oni('s, d(d|)hiniums, (*ol- 
umbiiK's and gaillardias. Fv(mi now there are many m'w 
The L.\te Rkhth.vm) N. F.um 
Wyoniissing Nurs(‘ri('s, Wyoniissing, Pa. 
\arieties of irisi's and h(‘ni('rocallis which an* lo b(‘ in¬ 
troduced during 1925. 
During 1923 a ik'w nursiM'v location was oblaimal by 
purchasing tlu* (ainrad Wi'isi'r honieslead, Wonudsdorf, 
Pa. Planting o|)('rations on tin' iii'w site wi're begun in 
the fall 1923 and w ill hi' (‘oniphded in s[)ring 1926. Rusi- 
ness is hi'ing conducted, in tin' iiK'anlinii', on th(‘ Wyo- 
missing |)r(Miiis(‘s. In naa'iit yi'ars, Mr. Farr assiMiiblfMl 
and i)erfe(*t(‘d a working organization so that he might 
be free lo (hwoli' iiiok' of his liiiu* lo hybridization and 
lo technical plant maltiMS. This organization will con- 
tiiUM' to carry on llii' business. 
Rertrand 11. Farr was born Oclolu'r 14, 1863, at Wind¬ 
ham, Vl. When liM' yea i s of agi' his panmls nio\ ed w est, 
going first lo Wis(*onsin w ii(‘re, for three years, IIk'v 
lived al Lake (b'lKwa, and lal<‘r at Rocheslei’, near .Mil- 
