IRIS KALE 139 



Iris. Many handsome perennials, of which the 

 Blue Flag is familiar to every old-fashioned garden. Most 

 Irises thrive best in a rather moist soil, and some of them 

 may be colonized in the water in margins of ponds. Gar- 

 deners usually divide them into two sections the tuberous- 

 rooted or rhizomatous, and the bulbous. A third division 

 the fibrous -rooted is sometimes made. The common and 

 most serviceable species belong to the tuberous -rooted sec- 

 tion. Here belongs the beautiful and varied Japanese 

 Iris, Iris Icevigata (or /. K&mpferi], which is among the 

 most deserving of all hardy perennials. Most of these Irises 

 need no special care. They are propagated by division of 

 the rootstocks. Plant the pieces 1 foot apart if a mass 

 effect is desired. When the plants begin to fail, dig them 

 up, divide the roots, discard the old parts and grow a new 

 stock, as before. I. Susiana, of this section, is one of the 

 oddest of Irises, but it is not quite hardy in the North. Of 

 the bulbous section, most species are not hardy in the 

 North. The bulbs should be taken up and replanted every 

 two or three years. The Persian and Spanish Irises belong 

 here. The bulbs give rise to but a single stem. 



Kale. A low -growing, spreading plant be- 

 longing to the cabbage family and extensively used for 

 winter and spring greens. The same culture as given to late 

 cabbage is suitable. At the approach of severe freezing 

 weather a slight protection is given in the North. The 

 leaves remain green through the winter and may be gathered 

 from under the snow at a time when material for greens is 

 scarce. Some of the Kales are very ornamental because of 

 their blue and purple curled foliage. The Scotch Curled is 

 the most popular variety. Kales are extensively grown at 

 Norfolk, Va., and southward, and shipped north in winter. 

 Let the plants stand 18 to 30 inches apart. Young cabbage 

 plants are sometimes used as Kale. See Collards. Bore- 

 cole is a kind of Kale. Sea Kale is a wholly different vege- 

 table (which see). 



