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wtth gift iris, and therefore the. public does not stee the finest iris. "I give away iy, poorest whberi.1- break Up a clumpi" .be- explains,1"and so do otber gardeners.- Consequently these specmens, are plant- ed ber. and there, and many, gardéns, keep on per- petuting inferior. grades."- Even when .h. throws: fis eut ini the alley, liesays some one usupally:cerne alqng, picks i up, and plnts it., Gift iris does get- around no end, lie admits sadly. Mr.- Hall bas, a wide experience as a. bybridizer of 'iris,. dating back 25 years to the tme whcn be moved. to 809 Central avenue inMinmette and decided to e iw lowers. ,Mrs. Hall and lie botb li irist, and; fromt the beginning *kl plant.lias received prime. consid- erâtion.1 In tbe. past 10 years bie bas becomé one. of tbe leading collectors and hybrdizers of the country, bas, grown' tlousands upon tbousands Mi seeditegs, and, last fal ad the im-. mense satisfaction of producing four seedtlngs which have been deemed perfect enougb and distinctive enough t e it commercial 'introduction. No debutante cornes out to inake lier bow before society with more fanfare than does a new iris. The iris deb first must win the approval of a dealer, 'and dealers don't specu- late in any Madame X types. They mnust see tbe value in sturdi.ness. heiglit, color,, texture, fragrance, and perfection ini specirnen before they accept the introduction. Then tbe deh is nanwed, -it -is registered, and the or Aus tria. Consequently it is flot a factor in the commercial growing of iris. Thie basic iris are the blue-purple blooms of Asia Minor and the yellow-red ôfý Austria. AUl the varieties seen on the market today bave been de- veloped from tbese two strains. Mr. Hall explained that iris is the oldest known flower. - It is -pictured in the irescaes ofancient Egypt. It i.the fleur-de-lis of France.. The. Arabs cultivated . h and: used -the white blossoms, or albinàs, tiD decorate tbe -graves' of* tbeir dead. Thi*>'ermans 'flrst predominated as iris' growers, theai the English' and Frenicb. Now'the Americans are ýops. The greatest devçIopffent bas'been since ga rdens, by automobile or airpiane, and luckily hav-e the climate on their sie. The Nashville, season is three weeks aliead of Chicago, for examp1e. Speaking of Nashville, it is called the Iris City *and bas an animal festival, for which the chamber of commerce and city.counicil vote an appropriation. Part of this interest may be attributed to the çity's> baving ini its midst a nationally known iris hybridizxer, Chancellor Kirkland of Vanderbilt university. He isà one of the top-notchers along with the Sass brothers of Omabia, Lapham of Elkhart, Ind., .a Pull man officiai of Worcester,ý Mass., a surgeon in Lincoin, Neb.» IncidentalIy, in the Chicago area the' best kniown iris gardens belong to Mis. Fred IL. Clutton of Highland Park, Dr.. Frank- lin Cook of' Evanston, Mrs. Euiclid Sniow of'lHinsdale, Dr. A. C. Wilhelm. of Chicago, and of course, Mr. Hall. Another by the way -wbich Mr. Hall tossed off in bis conversation is that teiris brought 'in for cut flowers are of, the heardless English, Spanish, and Dintchvarieties. in bis own bybridizing Mr. -Hall is wvorkîng for tbe best wbite,.the best red, -th~e best* pinlk, the besit blue, and so. on. The important qualities to breed for, be explai.ned, are color, sub- stanice, stalle, size, Tbe color sbould be clear, not *middy; substance is .necessary te resist wind and sun; the stalk determines the h eigbt, wbicb ranges from small, intermediate, to large; and the size refers to the bloom, wbich must ýbe perfect in sbape and texture. Texture now' is chiefly "Dominion," Mr. Hall recounted. Originally tbis $50 a root. The Du Ponts, Morgans. Perds,. and ether owners of exclusive conservateries' will surely want lier. The. dealer takes the proud' iris, di- vides the. r4ot into as mnany portions as the essential rbyiornes allow, and tdme effers tiiese precieus stub-divisions té discriminating collectors at a bigli price. The first year there is just one of this new kind of iris, the. next ycar tiiere are 15' or 20 roots. In bearded, iris of. Asia Miner sound lhke a very *tascinatmng ana 'etnm- grossing hobby. H. utilizes bis back- yard for the. name iris, the vacant lot tîext door for bis number plants, and a third' lot, somne blocks away, for his seedlings. The last are.the source of ail the others. Hie puts oùt: front 1,500 to 2,500, seedlings eve ryyer and W'hen these bloom, be may select 25 'for. attention during. the second year. The third year perbaps two or ,thee f the 25 are worth keefing. wanti. Jback duce both seeds anda 'alarge number season Mr. Hall aise likes to visit and se. what his colleagues are doing,. e Nashville show, talc. initheC fhicagOý Fm " 1-