34 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



on the mainland of Asia, namely ; /. speculatrix, little need 

 be said, for it is not now in cultivation, although a supply 

 of seeds has lately been obtained from Hong- Kong, where 

 the Iris is abundant on the hills behind the town. 



The two remaining members of the group are American, 

 namely, /. cristata and 7. lacustris. The former grows in 

 damp gravel beside streams in the Central States, and the 

 latter, which is merely a dwarf copy of cristata, is only 

 found on the shores of Lake Huron. They both creep 

 rapidly over the surface of the ground by means of running 

 rhizomes, and both can be easily propagated by taking off 

 the side-growths, which will be found ready to root shortly 

 after the flowers fade. These two Irises have a form of 

 seed that is found in no other species at present in 

 cultivation, but the curious appendage which is attached 

 to them when fresh does not seem to assist in germination, 

 but rather the reverse. 



The flowers of /. cristata are of some shade of lilac 

 with a low but distinct crest running along the centre 

 of the haft of the falls. The stem is only an inch or so 

 in length, but the tube is about twice as long. The 

 flowers of 7. lacustris only differ in being somewhat 

 smaller, and usually of a darker shade of colour. 



CHAPTER VIII 

 "GERMAN" IRISES 



THE name " German," commonly applied to a very large 

 number of Irises, is in no way specially appropriate. As a 



