132 MY GARDEN 



and break into irregular flakes at the crest. Both 

 are of a paler colour than the fall. Brought into 

 a warm room Histrio exudes sweetness, but appears 

 to refuse its odour out-of-doors. All these little 

 irises do very well in pots, though I cannot make 

 them ripen so. Like the rest of the reticulata 

 group, Histrio is a cheerful and beautiful flower. 

 Grow a dozen for people who are in the habit of 

 getting seedy and low-spirited at Christmas time ; 

 place these budding things beside your suffering 

 friends, and the reward will be great. 



Histrioides comes somewhat later than the last with 

 me and much resembles it, but opens a larger flower. 

 The standards have a graceful twist in them, and 

 to the fall belongs a peculiarly lovely form ; heart- 

 shaped, and narrowing to a point. The crest is 

 beautifully wavy, and the colouring matter passes a 

 long way down the claw along the stem. 



Iris Bakeriana is another early bird. I had one 

 (potted) in bloom on New Year's day. The flower 

 is a wonderful combination of two purples. The 

 standards and styles are of the colour of the common 

 violet ; the falls are tipped, splashed, and streaked 

 with the darkest velvety purple imaginable. This 

 tint lies on a white ground, and the contrast is unique 

 and lovely. The outside of the claw is striped with a 

 paler tone of colour, and the middle line has a slight 

 wash of yellow, but its tone is faint compared with 

 the hue of the pollen, where the anther lies under its 

 little style-cowl. The fruitful dust is a bright gold, 

 and the iris is most fragrant. You shall meet no 



