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International Rose Collection

The Rose is without doubt the world's most popular flower and almost every civilized
country has a favorite variety of its own. It is with great pleasure that we offer this
year this choice collection. The American Beauty, of course, heads the list, but our
collection contains also the favorite varieties of the English, German, Irish, Swedish
and French Nations.

No matter what else you may order this year, do not fail to put on your
list one of these collections, as these varieties will make a permanent improvement
to your grounds.

This collection really should sell for $1.50 in the ordinary sized plants but we
have propagated a large number this season so that we are enabled to furnish
them at the low price of 75¢ for one strong plant each of the six varieties.

American Beauty. - Our national favorite and of course we consider it
the most beautiful of all. It is unequaled tor large size, beauty and fragrance.
They do well grown in the open ground, and with slight protection live throughout
the winter in the northern states. Flowers are very double of deep brilliant
red shading to a rich crimson carmine. Has the true over-blooming qualities.
Strong young plants ea. 15c, large two-year-old dormant plants 35c ea, doz. $3.25.

England's Favorite. - Our attention was immediately attracted by this
charming, peculiar colored rose when we were traveling through Northern England
where this variety is very popular. The outside petals are a rich, deep
golden yellow, shading to deep coppery yellow toward the center of the flower.
A hardy climber. Each 20c, doz. $1.75; two-year-old plants each 40c, doz. $3.50.

Kaiserin. - In Germany roses are very popular and it is not surprising that
they have named this, their very choicest variety, the Kaiserin Augusta Victoria
as it is decidedly the finest white everblooming hardy
garden rose. It is not of a shiny, snowy whiteness but a soft
pearly white lightly tinted with lemon at the center. It has
proven to be the most free and continuous bloomer and most
hardy of any double white rose that we know of. Buds are of
faultless shape developing into large, very double flowers of
exquisite fragrance. Each 15c, doz, $1.50; large two-year-old
plants, each 30c, doz. $3.00.

Killarney. - For many years the Bridesmaid and La
France have been the most popular pink varieties, but last season
a new rose called the Killarney came to the front which is
fast pushing out the other sorts with the city florists and the
cut flowers sell at about fifty per cent higher prices. This is
owing to the fact that the buds are especially long and the
color of the rose is a peculiarly bright, living, rosy pink, different
and more beautiful than any other pink rose that has
ever been on the market. It is a free bloomer, easily grown,
and of strong, healthy constitution, and we believe will produce
as many flowers to the plant as any variety on our list.
Each 20c, doz. $1.75; large two-year-old plants each 40c, doz. $3.50.

Marechal Neil. - The grand old French variety which is ever
beautiful and of surpassing fragrance. It is a climbing rose which, when
well cultivated, will produce an immense number of flowers and we have
known single plants to have on more than five hundred roses at one time.
They are hardy in the South but will not stand our severe winters here,
and therefore must be taken in and kept dormant during the winter or
can be kept growing in the house or conservatory. They are excellent
winter bloomers. Each 15c, doz. $1.50; large two-year-old plants each
35c, doz. $3.25.

King Oscar. - This is one of those rich, dark, velvety, crimson roses
which are so surpassingly beautiful and this new variety named after
King Oscar, of Sweden, it seems to us, surpasses any heretofore offered.
This is a hardy strong growing variety and flowers as freely as
any dark colored sort, though it will not produce as many flowers during
the season as the Kaiserin or Killarney. It is of such a rich, dark color
that in comparison with other varieties it appears almost a maroon
black. Each 20c, doz. $1.75; large two-year-old plants each 40c, doz. $3.50.

International Rose Collection. —

Consists of one strong plant each of the above six varieties for only
75 cents, or a large sized two-year-old plant of each ready to begin
blooming at once, for only $1.75, sent prepaid to any town in the United States or Canada. Four collections for $5.75.

About Ourselves

The first question which comes to the mind of the prospective buyer
ahout any seed house is "are they reliable." Almost everyone in Iowa who
uses seeds knows the Iowa Seed Company and our Choice Iowa Seeds
are sown in every neighhorhood in the state, but as this catalogue goes
to many in all parts of the world who have not dealt with us, a few words
about our business may help us to become better acquainted. This
business was established abont [about] forty years ago, and it has grown until
now it occupies a permanent place in the seed trade of the country.

The business has been under the same management many years past,
the present manager having been connected with the company thirty
years. During all this time we have been constantly in close touch with
the farmers and gardeners, and know
what will prove the most satisfactory
in the various localities. Success in
the seed trade depends almost entirely
on the confidence of the people, and
our customers have learned that they
can rely implicitly on us.

Our Establishments.

This business has now reached such
proportions and is so diversified that
it is impossible to conduct it all under
one roof, and the accompanying illustrations will help you appreciate our
efforts in building up one of the most
substantial business enterprises in the
world to-day.

The Iowa Seed Store is so
well known in Des Moines that it
would be difficult to find even a child
in this city of 80,000 inhabitants who
does not known [know] its location. It occupies
the large building at 613-615 Locust
street within three or four blocks
of the postoffice, express offices and
principal railroad passenger stations.
The large store room is full of interest
to everyone who has a farm or garden,
or who loves flowers. Here are
located the offices and correspondence department. During our busy season
we receive 2,000 to 5,000 letters every day. and it requires seventeen
typewnters to answer the correspondence. We are always glad to have
our customers call and examine our stock and manner of doing business.

32 new greenhouses erected during the past five years are devoted
exclusively to growing plants for the mail order trade, and they
contain a greater variety of plants than any other greenhouse establishment
in the west. Hundreds of plant orders are filled daily during the
busy season; small plant orders can be mailed direct from the branch
postoffice nearby. They are located convenient to the electric car line
and fronting on Kingman Boulevard, one of the finest driving streets in
the city. Here we devote fully 12 acres to flowers, making the finest display
to be found in the west.

The warehouse on South Fifth street we have occupied for many
years for storage purposes only. Large lots of seed which come in after
harvest, are thoroughly cleaned and
then put away in this building and
held in readiness for the spring trade.

Mail order building. — Our
trade has increased so constantly that
we purchase the ground at 208-210-212
S. Eighth St. about six blocks from
the store, and erected thereon a large
trade. The railway tracks beside the
building give us excellent facilities
for handling carload lots, and we are
centrally located between the various
freight depots, so that small shipments
can be made promptly. Our
machinery is operated by four electric
motors, and we claim that our mills
for cleaning seed cannot be surpassed.
We can readily fill 2,000 to 4,000 orders
per day in this building, and they are
handled in such a careful way that errors
seldom occur. Most of our employees
have been with us many years
and appreciate the importance of each
order, no matter whether small or
large, and no "green hands" handle
seeds in bulk.

Seed farms. — It requires the
seed crop from about 8,600 acres to
supply our trade and the farms are widely isolated so as to avoid any
danger of mixtures. Some seeds cannot be grown to advantage here, and
we contract with practical seed growers elsewhere to grow for us. Our
special Seed Corn House is illustrated on page 24 of this catalogue.

[image: a number of buildings owned by the Iowa Seed Company]

Establishments
of the
Iowa Seed Company
Des Moines
Iowa

Ware House

Green Houses

Seed Store

Offices

Mail Order
Department

Seed Farms - 8600 Acres