THE IRIS. 



IN botany this is the generic name of 

 a number of beautiful plants be- 

 longing to the natural order of 

 Iridacece. The plants have a creep- 

 ing rootstock, or else a flat tuber, equi- 

 tant leaves, irregular flowers, and three 

 stamens. They are represented equally 

 in the temperate and hotter regions of 

 the globe. The wild species of iris are 

 generally called blue-flag, and the cul- 

 tivated flower-de-luce, from the French 

 fteiir de Louis, it having been the device 

 of Louis VII. of France. Our com- 

 monest blue-flag, iris versicolor, is a 

 widely distributed plant, its violet-blue 

 flowers, as may be seen, upon stems one 

 to three feet high, being conspicuous 

 in wet places in early summer. The 

 root of this possesses cathartic and 

 diuretic properties, and is used by some 

 medical practitioners. The slender 

 blue-flag found in similar localities 

 near the Atlantic coast, is smaller 

 in all its parts. A yellowish or red- 

 dish-brown species, resembling the 

 first named in appearance, is found 

 in Illinois and southward. There 

 are three native species which 

 grow only about six inches high and 

 have blue flowers. They are found in 

 Virginia and southward, and on the 

 shores of the great lakes; these are 

 sometimes seen as garden plants. The 

 orris root of commerce is the product 



of Iris Florentina, I. pallida, and /. Ger- 

 vianica, which grow wild in the south 

 of Europe; the rhizomes are pared and 

 dried, and exported from Trieste and 

 Leghorn, chiefly for the use of perfum- 

 ers; they have the odor of violets. The 

 garden species of iris are numerous, 

 and by crossing have produced a great 

 many known only by garden names. 

 The dwarf iris, I.pumila, from three to 

 six inches high, flowers very early and 

 makes good edgings to borders; the 

 common flower-de-luce of the gardens 

 is /. Germanica ; the elder-scented 

 flower-de-luce is /. sainbtici?ia. These 

 and many others are hardy in our 

 climate, and readily multiplied by divi- 

 sion of their rootstocks. The mourn- 

 ing or crape iris is one of the finest of 

 the genus, its flowers being very large, 

 dotted and striped with purple on a 

 gray ground. The flowers of most of 

 the species are beautiful. Some of 

 them have received much attention 

 from florists, particularly the Spanish, 

 English, and German, or common iris, 

 all corn-rooted species, and all Euro- 

 pean. The Persian iris is delightfully 

 fragrant. The roots of all these species 

 are annually exported in considerable 

 quantities from Holland. The roasted 

 seeds of one species have been used as 

 a substitute for coffee. 



THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 



THE language of flowers is a study 

 at once interesting and inno- 

 cent, cultivating, as it does, a 

 taste for the works of nature, 

 filling the soul with the sweetest emo- 

 tions and presenting to view one of the 

 most enchanting phases of a beautiful 

 world full of wonders. Following are 

 a few of the best known flowers and 

 the sentiments which they represent: 



Sweet alyssum, worth beyond beauty; 

 apple blossom, preference; bachelor's 

 button, single and selfish; balm, sym- 

 pathy; barberry, sourness; candytuft, 



indifference; carnation pink, woman's 

 love; Chinese chrysanthemum, cheer- 

 fulness under misfortune; c],ematis, 

 mental beauty; columbine, folly; red 

 clover, industry; dahlia, dignity; white 

 daisy, innocence; faded leaves, melan- 

 choly; forget-me-not, remembrance; 

 jonquil, affection returned; lily of the 

 valley, return of happiness; myrtle, 

 love in absence; pansy, you occupy my 

 thoughts; moss rose, superior merit; 

 red rose, beauty; white rose, I am 

 worthy of love: sunflower, haughtiness; 

 yellow rose, infidelity. 



