IRIS 



FLAG OBDEB 



TIGEIDIA 935 



almost immediately, about 6 in. apart and 

 2-3 in. deep, as they soon start into growth 

 again. 



I. Xiphium (J. hispamica; XipMon 

 vtUgare). — Spanish Iris. — A charming 

 bulbous Iris native of S. Europe, with 

 smooth, brownish, ovoid bulbs, and linear, 

 glaucous, awl-shaped loaves 12-18 in. 

 long. Flowers in May and June, 3-4 in. 

 across, variously coloured with shades of 

 purple, bronze, and yellow, and having a 

 large number of garden varieties, includ- 

 ing white ones. A distinct natural form 

 from Portugal, known as lusitanica, has 

 pure yellow flowers with an orange blotch 

 on the faU, and is doubtless the progenitor 

 of the various yellow garden varieties. 

 The form known as ' Thunderbolt ' is a 

 strong free-growing plant 2 ft. or more 

 high, having large flowers of a pecuUar 

 bronzy or smoky hue, produced by the 

 fusion of purple and yellow with brown. 

 The variety Battandieri from Algiers is 

 like the type, but has very glaucous foliage 

 and dead white flowers with an orange 

 ridge on the fall. 



Culture and Propagation. — The 

 Spanish and English Iris wiU not grow 

 very well under the same treatment. 

 The English likes a fair amount of mois- 

 ture at the roots in summer, while the 

 Spanish prefers a rather dry situation. 

 Given such a situation and fairly good 

 soil, they will flower profusely year after 

 year without any trouble. When the 

 smaller flowers begin to appear it is a 

 sign that the soil is becoming exhausted, 

 and the bulbs should be lifted and re- 

 planted in fresh quarters when the foliage 

 has withered. As cut flowers for room 

 decoration the Spanish Iris is excellent. 

 Long before the flowers in the British 

 Islands open out of doors, tons of ' spears,' 

 or unopened blossoms, are sent to the 

 London markets from the south of France, 

 the Eiviera, and the Channel Islands. 

 These are placed in water and stood in 

 the genial temperature of a hothouse, 

 where they open beautifully bright and 

 clear in a few days, and are then fit for 

 sale. 



The following are a few of the finest 

 garden forms of the Spanish Iris, and all 

 are worth growing. 



Adelina Patti, deep bronze ; Sappho, 

 splendid bronze ; Agnes, blue, very fine ; 

 Alexander v. Humboldt, deep blue ; For- 

 mosa, dark blue ; Leonidas, dark violet- 



blue ; Louise, lilac-blue, very large, extra 

 fine ; Athalia, pure white ; Blanche 

 Superbe, pure white, dwarf ; British 

 Queen, pure white ; La Dame Blanche, 

 pure white, dwarf; La Neige, pure white, 

 large ; Mont Blanc, pure white, dwarf ; 

 Belle Ohdnoise, very fine yellow ; Chryso- 

 lora, very fine bright yellow ; Leander 

 deep yellow, very large, scented ; Oviddus, 

 clear pale yellow ; Princess May, yellow 

 with bluish centre; WilUam, the First, 

 golden-yellow. 



TIGRIDIA (Tiger Flowee). — A 

 genus of bulbous plants with few narrow 

 or broader and plaited leaves. Flowers 

 few in a spathe with a tubeless concave 

 perianth, having free segments, the outer 

 ones very broad, clawed, the inner ones 

 much smaller, more or less wavy. The 

 filaments of the 3 stamens are united in a 

 cylindrical tube. Ovary 3-oelled. 



Culture and Propagation. — Tiger 

 Flowers develop to the best advantage 

 when grown in warm open sunny posi- 

 tions protected by other vegetation from 

 cold cutting winds, but not shaded or 

 crowded in any way. A deep sandy loam 

 enriched with leaf-mould or well-rotted 

 manure is an excellent soil for them. 

 The surface may receive a mulching of 

 cow-manure when the leaves are fairly 

 well developed, and during hot dry sum- 

 mers frequent soakings with water will 

 be beneficial, especially about the period 

 of blooming. 



Being natives of a warmer country 

 than our own, the Tiger Flowers are not 

 strictly hardy, although in southern 

 localities they suffer no injury in being 

 left in the ground during the winter, if 

 the crowns are protected with a little 

 ashes or litter. The safest and best plan, 

 however, is to Uft the bulbs every year at 

 the end of October or November when the 

 leaves have completely faded. The side 

 bulblets should be detached and preserved 

 and the leaves of the old ones trimmed 

 after bunches have been made for the 

 sake of tidiness in storing. They may be 

 kept in dry airy frost-proof places in the 

 same way as Dahlia roots ; or, better still, 

 the bulbs may be placed in layers and 

 covered with dry sand until the time for 

 replanting comes round again, usually 

 from the end of March to the beginning 

 of May. 



Tigridias are easily increased by the 

 separation of the small bulbs from the 



