124 THE IRIS. 



der division necessary every two years. The foliage is 

 good, and remains green until autumn, though all the 

 growth is made in early spring. Among these early-bloom- 

 ing species we may mention 



I. 'cristata. — Flowers pale blue in May ; three inches 

 high. 



J. pumila. — Flowers dark blue or white ; three inches 

 high. 



I. lutescens. — Flowers yellowish white ; six inches high. 



We have in our garden a most beautiful variety of /. 

 pumila^ which blooms rather later than the species, and 

 has dark-purple flowers, with a rich velvety lustre, with 

 shadings of orange-yellow. 



The species of bulbous iris most commonly grown are 



I. Xij)hium. — This species, commonly called the Spanish 

 iris, and often found in the shops under the name of Iris 

 Hispanica^ is perfectly hardy in our gardens. The flowers 

 are very handsome, and of various colors, fragrant, and 

 freely produced. This species propagates itself readily by 

 oflTsets : it also ripens seed in abundance, and hybridizes 

 freely with the English iris. Indeed, the florists' catalogues 

 give us hundreds of hybrid seedlings, which are indiscrimi- 

 nately called English or Spanish iris. 



