150 Tall Bearded Iris 



Such departures from the normal, though odd, can 

 hardly be considered improvements, as so much of 

 the beauty of the Iris lies in its form. 



Sometimes as a result of environment or cultivation 

 a plant produces flowers of an unusual color also. 

 Thus, in the garden of Mrs. Vibe K. Spicer, Kenil- 

 worth, Illinois, in the spring of 1921 a plant of Hon- 

 orabile produced flowers having, each, one standard 

 and one half of each of the other two standards white, 

 and one fall and one-half of each of the other two 

 clear purple — the plant having in previous years borne 

 flowers of only the normal colors of the variety (stand- 

 ards strong golden yellow, and falls crimson-brown). 



Such variations from the normal (color, number of 

 parts, etc.) resulting only from environment, some- 

 times called "freaks" and sometimes "sports", are 

 known to scientists as "fluctuations". Such varia- 

 tions are, at least as a rule, only temporary — they 

 are not likely to appear in subsequent seasons unless 

 the conditions which first produced them again occur. 

 Whether such variations repeatedly occurring under 

 like merely environmental conditions ever become 

 fixed so as to become inheritable (not depending upon 

 environmental conditions for their appearance), is a 

 matter as to which it seems all scientists are not 

 entirely in accord. (See under Mutations in Chapter 

 X.) 



Blooming. — Irises very rarely bloom more than 

 once a year, except in especially favorable localities 

 (as, California). John Foster, Loreley, Mrs. Alan Grey 

 and one or two other varieties have been known to 



