A SHORT PAPER ON IRIS. 



27 



Crusades, and strewed it on the mantle of his son when conse- 

 crated at Rheims. 



After the battle of Crecy it was united with the arms of 

 England, and remained so until, on the union with Ireland, the 

 shamrock took its place. But from the earliest times it was the 

 symbol of power in Eastern countries. A fleur de lys, exactly 

 like that of the emblem of the French Monarchy, was found 

 surmounting a sceptre on a monument of the highest antiquity 

 at Dendera in the heart of Egypt. Herodotus and Strabo relate 

 that the kings of Babylon formerly bore it at the extremity of 

 their sceptres. Montfaucon also speaks of that of David found in 

 the miniature of a tenth-century manuscript which is surmounted 

 by an Iris. It was placed on the brow of the Sphinx, and the 

 ancients regarded it as the emblem of eloquence. 



A glance at the geographical distribution of the species of 

 Iris will, I think, assure us of their adaptability to our climate 

 and our gardens. 



There is, I believe, no meridian of longitude in the land of 

 our northern temperate zone untenanted by Iris in one, at least, 

 of its many forms and species. In latitude the greatest abun- 

 dance appears towards the warm temperate region of 40°, whilst 

 they rapidly thin out below 30° or beyond 60°. This gives us 

 the knowledge that the majority of Irises are hardy plants. I 

 am not sure that I could find half-a-dozen that are not perfectly 

 hardy as far as our cold is concerned ; and with the exception 

 of some of the Asiatic section, notably the Oncocyclus group, 

 which inhabit a peculiar climate of extremes to which they seem 

 especially adapted, and without which they cannot go through 

 life, they are, on the whole, very reliable plants to grow. 



Starting from England, we have two native species, Pseitda- 

 corus and ftxtidissima, both of which spread right across the 

 continent as far as Afghanistan and Northern India, in fact seem 

 happy anywhere or, as they say in catalogues, " will grow under 

 trees." In France and towards its southern coasts we find at 

 least ten species. Portugal and Spain soon add to the list with 

 bulbous ones. The drier and warmer the soil in summer the 

 greater need for the bulb form of plant. Morocco, Algeria, and 

 Northern Africa add more bulbous ones, to which summer 

 roasting, sun, and light are essentials of culture ; but they thin off 



