GENERAL REVIEW. 



Irids, are readily propagated by offsets or division. Gladiolus, 

 Crocus, and the other cormous species, produce lateral offsets 

 freely, which, being separated and planted, serve to multiply 

 the parent plants. Most of the species, especially Crocus, 

 Gladiolus, the bulbous Iris, Ixias, Sparaxis, &c., seed freely; 

 and seeds grow readily, sown as soon as ripe or in the spring 

 in pots or pans of light sandy earth. The seeds of all Irises 

 should be sown as soon as they are ripe, or any time in the 

 autumn, preserved in a cold frame through the winter, and 

 they will come up in the spring. When not sown till the spring, 

 they generally take twelve months to vegetate ; perhaps a slight 

 hotbed would accelerate their germination. As to their treat- 

 ment, that depends on what kind of Iris they are. The Spanish 

 Iris (Xiphiuni) and the English Iris (Xiphioides) are the two 

 sorts generally grown from seeds. They are bulbous plants, 

 and sport into endless varieties from seeds ; and the different 

 varieties are increased from offsets of the bulbs, like the Crocus. 

 In dry light soil they are quite hardy. 



Here is an order of nearly all hardy flowers, having the glow- 

 ing colours, fantastic markings, and in many cases the variable 

 forms, of the tropical Orchids, and which luxuriate in all warm 

 sandy soils. What a field for the intelligent hybridiser, not- 

 withstanding the strides which have already been made, especi- 

 ally in the hybrid Gladioli of our own and Continental raisers, 

 the Crocuses of the Dutch bulb-growers, and the lovely seminal 

 cross-bred forms of the bulbous or Spanish Iris and German 

 Iris (/. germanica), now so common in our gardens ! Let us 

 hope that the graceful Ixias and Sparaxis, which succeed so 

 perfectly in the Channel Islands, may in like manner be im- 

 proved. Some of the genera in this order, as Tigridia and 

 Ferraria, or Ixia and Sparaxis, or Babiana, might possibly be 

 hybridised, and new forms or races thus obtained. 



The following are the principal cultivated genera : Sisyrin- 

 chium, Libertia, Morcea, Iris, Herbertia, Cypella, Tigridia, Fer- 

 raria, Witsenia, Babiana, Gladiolus, Watsotiia, Sparaxis, Ixia, 

 Trichonema, and Crocus. 



Crocus.* Hardy bulbs, for the most part European. On 

 warm dry soils they readily reproduce themselves by offsets. 

 Many of the species seed freely, and may be grown in pots for 

 this purpose in a cool frame or pit. Seed should be sown as 

 soon as ripe, for if kept until it dries, it does not vegetate till 

 the second year. Stfw either in pans in a cool frame, or in a 

 warm sheltered border out of doors. The seedlings flower the 



* Fora general account of all the species of Crocus, see 'Card. Chron.,' 

 l8 73> P- 107 et seq. 



