W 7A D FA LLS. 



55 



the Iceland varieties. The various kinds of Iris Ger- 

 nianica are beautiful, and the finer varieties are too little 

 known. It is a great surprise to me, after growing the 

 English and Spanish iris, that they are so seldom seen. 

 The English iris has the most beautiful blue, purple 

 and white colors, while the Spanish iris shows fine 

 combinations of purple, yellow and brown. Both are 

 hardy but require a dry situation in winter. Iris 



in diameter, the top petal being blue in the middle, with 

 a yellow spot in the center of the blue. But although 

 the flowers are beautiful, it is the queer bladder-like ex- 

 pansion of the petioles that rivets the attention of those 

 that see it for the first time, 



I have a specimen in a fish globe, and although the 

 latter is filled with well-water and contains not a particle 

 of earth, the plant seems to thrive, for it has not only 



WATER HYACINTH 



Kaevipferi^ or the Japan iris, is firm. I have not always 

 found it sure of flowering, but it will repay a little 

 trouble. — P. F. Blodgett, Veriiioiif. 



The Water Hyacinth. — The illustration represents 

 an aquatic plant that is still so new as to be absolutely 

 unknown to the majority of the people, although florists 

 have it for sale. It is the Ponledcria crassipes, viajor, 

 also called the water hyacinth. It bears a cluster of 

 pale lilac flowers, that remind one of a truss of rhodo- 

 dendrons. The individual flowers are about two inches 



bloomed as you see it in the drawing, but it has thrown 

 out two new runners since I had it : and to all appear- 

 ances it is going to get along without any earth. This 

 makes it the more attractive, since even the roots are 

 beautiful. They are of a dark purplish black, tipped 

 with a black lance-like point. I am told the plant is 

 very tender, and therefore it must be kept in a warm 

 room in winter. — William Graf, Philadi'lphia . 



Berberis Thunbergii has advantages enough to 

 merit the foremost place among ornamental berried 



