1-22 



THE AQUARIUM, JULY, 1894. 



THE IRIS. 



Of all the fairy tales and fables of 

 Ancient Mythology, perhaps the most 

 interesting is the story of Juno, the 

 Mythical Queen of Heaven, surrounding 

 the world with a transparent mist, 

 which, pierced by the glittering rays of 

 the Sun, produced the Rainbow, the 

 archetype of Iris. Ancient Mythology, 

 however, goes still farther and tells us 

 that Juno was attended by five deities 

 and fourteen nymphs, but her most 

 faithful attendant was Iris. But the age 

 of fable is passed, and now we interpret 

 the ancient ideas of the Rainbow, as 



Iris Susiana. 



the embodiment of all that is beautiful 

 or divinely fair, and a fit companion 

 for the gods, of which they knew not, 

 still, worshiped. 



So much for the ancient origin of the 

 name, while its application to the group 

 of plants under consideration, is equally 

 instructive. It was chosen by the early 

 naturalist, — while the study of botany 

 as a science was yet unknown, — to des- 

 ignate an indefinite section or group of 

 plants, with especial reference to the 

 Iris; all of which produce more or less 

 brilliant and showy flowers, and all of 

 which are unsurpassed for garden cul- 

 ture, especially, since the species and 

 varieties now offered present such varied 



forms and well contrasted colors. Lin- 

 naeus, in his effort to obliterate all the 

 old botanical names, called the family 

 Ensatce, from the Latin Bnsis — a sword 

 — on account of their leaves being long, 

 narrow and pointed, {. e., sword-like. 

 He, however, soon abandoned his name, 

 and restored the old Greek name, Iris, 

 which has been retained by subsequent 

 botanists. In heraldry, the flower of the 

 liis, under the name of Fleur-de-lis, 

 (pronounced by a corruption of the 

 French language. Flower-de-luce,) was 

 also employed as the royal emblem of 

 France during the reign of the old 

 Kings, consisting (in heraldry) of three 

 flowers on an azure field. Its interpret- 

 ation is "The Royal (purple) Lily, 

 queen of flowers, the true representa- 

 tive of Majesty." Since the establish- 

 ment of the Republics, as well as dur- 

 ing the Empires of France, the Fleur- 

 de-lis has ceased to be used as the 

 national emblem ; but in some of its 

 modified forms, it figures very conspic- 

 uously in the heraldic emblems of some 

 of the oldest noble families of both 

 France and England. 



From a scientific point of view, or, 

 more correctly speaking, in the natural 

 order of the vegetable kingdom, the Iris 

 approaches nearer the structure of the 

 true Lily, than any other aquatic plant, 

 for which reason, if for no other, we feel 

 justified in treating of it as a Water 

 Lily. But we know the propriety of 

 calling it Water Lily will at once 

 be questioned by many, and we must 

 add a word more in explanation, for, 

 although some species are the exact re- 

 verse of an aquatic plant, still some of 

 our American and European sj^ecies are 

 so much at home on the low, wet mar- 

 gins of lakes and rivers, and are even 

 often found growing in shallow water, 

 where the roots, and sometimes the 



