Re: HIST- Older varieties CD-ROM

Rick Tasco mused:

<< Wouldn't it be nice of HIPS had a picture inventory on a CD-ROM? >>

If well done, this would be a fabulous resource. I would be prepared to pay
well for a handsome and thoughtfully constructed product. I understand the
technology is making them cheaper to produce every day. This can even be done
at home.

I have come to the conclusion that education in the lore of the historic
irises is to far too great a degree dependent upon the oral tradition, which
makes learning difficult for those not fortunate enough to live near a source
of information. Nor does eveyone live near a display garden, or the garden of
a major collector. I have discussed this at lenghth with several persons
newly interested in the subject and we are agreed that what is most needed
and most difficult to find is high quality photographs of classic varieties.

I would imagine that some of the problem may stem from a reluctance to
provide that "little knowledge" which is "a dangerous thing", thereby adding
to the confusion of names in circulation, but surely there is some means of
providing high quality basic research photographs of our iris heritage. 

I must say that I have rented several sets of slides from HIPS and while it
was apparent that the Slide Chairman, Joan Cooper, does the best job she can
with what she has to work with, the fact is the quality of many of the slides
clearly marked them as someone's cast-offs. Nor were some of the more famous
and often encountered names included in the sets. It was a very disappointing
experience, and I don't feel I learned much from it. Nor was it cheap.

There are numerous quasi-professional photographers in the world of historic
irises and I have no doubt thousands of photographs already exist which might
be donated toward the further education of interested persons, and,
ultimately, toward the appreciation and conservation of those irises that
HIPS is charged with preserving. 

Of course, this might also be an exciting and viable commercial venture for
one or a group of superior purveyors of historic cultivars, Rick Taso. 

Anner Whitehead, Richmond, Va
Henry Hall   henryanner@aol.com
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