39 



exist, and all the forms may eventually have to be regarded as 

 varieties of one species. 



Unlike the majority of Juno Irises, J. caucasica and J. or- 

 cliioides present few difficulties in the way of cultivation. Since 

 their foliage does not appear until the severe winter frosts are 

 over, they are quite hardy in the ordinary acceptation of the 

 word. Nor do they need, to the same extent, at least, as many 

 other Juno Irises, the " drying-up " in summer. Their leaves 

 do not wither (and this is especially true of I. orchioides) until 

 the hot days of summer are upon us, and these seem quite 

 adequate to ripen the bulbs. All that is necessary is to give 

 them a sunny, fairly warm spot, and a soil that is not too light. 

 As far as my experience goes, they nourish best in a rich, 

 somewhat stiff loam, and if I had to choose between clay and 

 sand, I should choose the former. 



As I said a little while back, I. caucasica spreads from the 

 Caucasus westward into Asia Minor. Here, however, it occurs 

 sparsely ; and when we travel further westward and southward 

 we find it replaced by other species of limited range. 



In Palestine, for instance, and the Sinai peninsula, the Juno 

 group of Irises is represented by I. Palestina (fig. 23). This, which 

 is found on Mount Hebron, and on Mount Carmel, in the valley 

 of the Jordan, and elsewhere, is a dwarf little Iris, having all 

 the characters of the Juno group, bearing one, two, or three small, 

 greenish-yellow, but variously marked fragrant flowers. It is 

 not very handsome, and, from a garden point of view, not worth 

 the trouble which its cultivation demands. With me the foliage 

 appears in late autumn, and the flowers in mid-winter. No 

 wonder that it is not hardy in this country ; I can only keep it 

 alive by growing it in a cool greenhouse. 



Still southward of Asia Minor, but to the east of Palestine, 

 in the North of Mesopotamia, and the adjoining Armenian 

 hills, is found /. sindjarensis (fig. 24), for the recent intro- 

 duction of which we have to thank Mr. Max Leichtlin. This 

 presents certain analogies with I. orchioides ; the bulbs are very 

 large, and the leaves are long, lax, channelled, with their bases 

 clasping the stem, which is a foot or more in height and bears 

 two or three flowers. The general colour of the flower, which 

 exhibits the ordinary Juno features, is blue of a somewhat slaty 

 hue, broken by the yellow of the ridge of the fall and by 



