Gold Ruffles, even though it has sorne lines at the haft, but in spite of these it is proving a 
rémarkable parent for yellows, blends and pure pinks, since its sister, 44-67, was a pink-bud break 
in the same pod and it is, together with other pink lines (unrelated), giving me some splendid 
pinks with splendid form and good substance. 
The Creams 
Our big surprise last season was Miss Rees’ Ruffled Bouquet—a seedling from Snow Flurry 
x Sunburst. This seemed to us the finest primrose yellow or cream, although we like Creamo, 
Snoqualmie, Amandine, Golden Treasure and Desert Song. This class could be widened and as 
Walter Welch suggests, the breeding of whites with yellows will give a host of cream or light 
yellow seedlings, some of which may be improvements. Desert Song has about the most substance 
and widest petals, but has texture veining. | think, however, it will prove a wonderful parent for 
creams, yellows, pinks, and orchids. 
Purples (Mulberry) 
In this class Elmohr stands supreme. Deep Velvet, Purple Moor, Lord Dongan and Master 
Charles. Burgundy Rose and my new Story Time should be included here. This class could be 
expanded. The purples crossed with reds will give a great many of these colors, as will the addi- 
tion of the blood of Inspiration, Starless Night, etc. 
The Oranges 
This class has been slow to come to the front, and no marked stride has yet been made, 
although some striking iris have been developed, nearly all of which stem from Naranja. Prince 
Of Orange, Ella Callis, Ta Ming, Damascus and Rocket are a few in the bi-colored orange and 
yellow class. | feel the oranges from the pink breeding will bring this class to the front very 
shortly, and | see in them more true orange than is found in these others that are, admittedly, 
quite yellow. Whole vistas are open to hybridizers in this color class. Almost any iris with 
Naranja in the background will be a useful parent, such as mentioned above, and Goldbeater, 
another. Some of these like Ella Callis and Ta Ming sunburn badly, so great care must be exer- 
cised in the selection of the proper parents to cross with them. The orange-pinks stemming from 
Melitza, the Sea Shell pinks and Golden Eagle, will bring us exciting color together with that 
tell-tale beard—giving us flowers with greatly enhanced color within. 
The Amoenas 
Here is a class that has been slow to improve, and the reason may lie in the difficulty in 
breeding and germination from these. Wabash has long been a standard of perfection in this 
class; however, we understand Geddes Douglas of Nashville, Tenn., has some advancements 
coming from Extravaganza x Wabash that will set a new standard. Edward W. Brenan of Red- 
lands, Calif., has bloomed seedlings from the same cross, some of which are on trial here. 
Mrs. Crosby of Orem, Utah, bloomed an unusually fine, large one with considerable reddish tones 
in the falls from Shannopin x Wabash. Size has been achieved. Further refinement will come. 
There may be much of interest here, yet. | bloomed a fair Amoena from Dorothy Dietz x Mauna 
Loa, but it is a difficult parent and has no pollen, on occasions. Iris Lent A. Williamson is 
responsible for most of the Amoenas in existence today and it might still be of use, although with 
Extravaganza, and its new children, advancement is so great it might not "pay'' to go back to 
such an old iris for breeding, although surely Wabash and Shannopin will yet hold great possi- 
bilities in this color class, as will Amigo, although this iris is really a Neglecta and is quite 
difficult to breed. Many hybridizers have seedlings from Amigo x Wabash, said to be im- 
provements, of a sort, over either parent. From the breeding of Amoenas one may expect vari- 
gatas to crop up but the things to keep in mind are to improve size, substance and branching. 
Taking Care of the Seeds 
| believe everyone will know how to mark their crosses, but one should be certain to use 
labels that will not peel or lose their markings before the pods are gathered. Wooden tree labels 
with copper wire may be used, paper marking tags can be used, some of the new plastic markers 
or aluminum markers. These should be plain so no mistakes are made at gathering time. If one 
is working with a plot of Wm. Mohr, for instance, he might drive stakes and cross all flowers 
in one area with one kind of pollen, thus using only one marker or label for a goodly number 
of stalks crossed. One label might serve to mark crosses on a stalk by marking it thusly: the top 
flowers are crossed with the first pollen on the tag—if a branch just below is crossed write 
"J. B."" (meaning Just Below), and if the second branch is crossed differently write ''2nd B" 
(Second Below), or "'B" for Bottom, etc. Sometimes one crosses the top flower and the bottom 
flower with the same pollen. In such an event he can write the pollen parent down and just 
under this write: Also B or and B. It might be wise, especially during wet weather, to pull down 
the spathes—those sheaths of green growing upward close to the ovaries for these might hold 
water, as will the green near each branch, and cause rot before the pods develop. 
It often happens accidents occur to pods or stalks before the seeds are ripe. | have found 
it best to place these on a shelf to finish drying, although some fanciers have used Sugar 
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