27 



let him take the bulbs up yearly, planting them somewhat late, 

 choosing each year, as far as may be, a sunny, dry spot where 

 the soil is a moderately light but not too sandy loam. He, on 

 the other hand, who fights against fate for the English Iris, 

 should choose his dampest but unshaded situation, giving the 

 preference as regards soil to a black vegetable mould rich in 

 humus, and supply artificially the moisture which may be lack- 

 ing to the plants while they are making foliage and preparing to 

 bloom. 



The other members of the group seem always to require 

 special care. 7. filifolia and Ljuncea show more pressing needs 

 than I. xiphium ; they not only need a dry, hot spot, but they 

 must be kept dry in the summer for some time after flowering. 

 The easiest way to effect this is to lift the bulbs annually, re- 

 planting somewhat late, and they bear this shifting without 

 harm. If they are to be left in the ground, the place chosen for 

 them should be a hot, dry spot on the top of a rockery, with no 

 more soil than can be well drained in winter and baked dry 

 in summer ; but under such circumstances they are apt to be 

 starved. As far as my experience goes, they are more vigorous 

 in a moderately stiff loam than in a more distinctly sandy soil. 



The cultivation of I. tingitana is peculiarly difficult in this 

 country, at least in most districts. The plants start growth 

 early, and their relatively broad, ample foliage is terribly 

 punished by winter storms. Moreover, they need genial mois- 

 ture and more decided warmth in early spring, just as they are 

 preparing to flower (for they should bloom in April or early in 

 May, long before the Spanish Iris), than they obtain in most 

 parts of this country. The plants are hardy enough, in the 

 sense that they can, unprotected, stand without injury even 

 our severest frosts ; not winter, but cold, cutting spring is their 

 enemy ; they live, but they refuse to bloom. I sent to a friend 

 on the Riviera some bulbs which had been growing and in- 

 creasing with me for several years, and yet without yielding a 

 single bloom ; even in the first spring of their sojourn in that 

 more genial land they bloomed profusely. I very much doubt 

 whether any artificial care can ever in this country supply what 

 this plant needs to bring out the magnificent blooms which it 

 ought to give. 



Of the cultivation of I. Boissieri I cannot say much, except 



