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THE IRIS 400 *. 
A PRICE LIST OF THE B E/T 
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A SHORT PERSONAL LETTER TO YOU 
Dear Floral Friends: 
When I look at the following collection 
of the newest and best Iris, which are now 
in full bloom, and am thrilled by their 
ineffable beauty, I feel convinced that the 
science and the art of Iris breeding has 
been as progressive and as productive of 
astounding results as the efforts of science 
and invention along any other lines. I am 
proud too that these are mostly American 
originations. 
Previous to 1910, I had never seen any 
Iris ecept the common old white and blue 
“flags”. That spring I flowered some new 
sorts I had imported from Goos and Koen- 
emann of Breslau, Germany. They were 
then the latest and best, bred by this firm 
and other European breeders. Included 
were Magnifica, Iris King, Rhein Nixe, 
Loreley, Mad. Chereau, (first plicata), 
Mrs. Darwin, Darius and actually one de- 
scribed as pink, Queen of May. There were 
30 or 40 sorts. My importation was prob- 
ably the first or at least one of the first 
brought to California. 
Soon American breeders were giving 
close competition to the Europeans and in 
20 years my new Iris were being rapidly 
replaced by better ones. A new and better 
Magnifica replaced the original one. Aph- 
rodite was a better pink, but still not very 
pink. Iris King (G and K’s Iris Koenig) 
was held in favor a long time and I still 
think of it reverently. 
The old Rhein Nixe has gained immor- 
tality thru transmitting its pattern in 
greater refinement to several that I be- 
lieve must be its descendents such as the 
beautiful Wabash. 
Now after 40 years the new varieties are 
almost countless. From these, for our ‘Iris 
400” have been gleaned those most out- 
standing. There are not yet 400 of them, 
so nearly 100 more will be added when we 
can sell them within the price range of 
this list. But the varieties added must 
stand rigorous test before they are added 
as we want this list to include only the 
very best. 
Those listed here are amazingly, inef- 
fably beautiful. ‘Out of this world’, aptly 
describes them. Richer blends; purer, 
larger whites of more refined form; deep- 
er golden yellows like that of King Al- 
fred Daffodils; finer, redder reds; more 
pink in the pink sorts; blues like the sky 
after rain and other shades for sunny 
days or dark days; plicatas; variegatas; 
bicolors, they are all here. 
If you do not add several of these to your 
garden, you are denying yourself much 
pleasure. They will give you many happy 
hour's. 
Yours sincerely, 
Cecil Houdyshel 
Terms are the same as those outlined 
fully in our Spring and Fall Catologs. 
Briefly, these are: California customers 
must add 214% sales tax. We do not ship 
orders C. O. D. Remittance in full must 
accompany orders. We prepay postage on 
orders for $1.00 or more. Orders under 
$1.00 for these Iris must send 15c extra 
for postage and packing. 
Deliveries will begin about July 15, but 
it is better to get your order in early as 
we try to fill orders approximately in ro- 
tation. Don’t send 2 or 3 orders at inter- 
vals and ask us to assemble and send all 
at one time as it is almost impossible to 
assemble and connect them. We will be 
rushed and will lack time to answer in- 
quiries or give additional information 
about varieties. 
If you want an acknowledgement of 
your order it is better to enclose a self ad- 
dressed post card which we will at once 
mail back. We will be as prompt as pos- 
sible, but please be patient as we some- 
times get a little in arrears when orders 
come faster than we can dig, assemble, 
pack and ship them. We can’t employ extra 
help for this purpose as we must use only 
long trained and careful packers. 
Dozen and 100 rates are not given on 
Iris from this list. Only those discounts 
explained under “Iris Collections” may be 
applied. These discounts are the most 
liberal, in fact, that have ever been offer- 
ed. They are as low or lower than any 
wholesale. 
Substitution. We have a good stock of 
most of the varieties listed, but there is a 
possibility that we may run out of a few 
of the rarer ones late in the season. We 
will not substitute without your permis- 
sion. If we may substitute please include 
a list we may select from. 
Near by customers are requested to send 
orders by mail as we dig these only once a 
week by a sort of ‘assembly line’ method 
and cannot make “over the counter’ de- 
liveries. 
Cheaper Iris are listed in our Spring 
Catalog. If you do not have one and wish 
to order Iris please ask for a copy. Our 
supply is very limited and we may have 
to send a copy that has been mailed before. 
In ordering, if you wish you may use 
this price list as an order sheet checking 
the items you want. If requested we will 
pack another price list with the order. 
Culture of Iris is most simple. They pre- 
fer the heavier soils containing some clay 
and are especially fine in limestone soils 
where blue grass thrives. But they do very 
well in sandy loam and you need not be 
discouraged by possessing a sand soil or 
even a gravelly soil. The soil should be 
neutral or mildly alkaline and if acid it 
should receive wood ashes or lime in suf- 
ficient quantity to at least neutralize it. 





