134 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



that of drawing general conclusions from the facts which come 

 under our observation. The principle is admirable only so long 

 as the facts are sufficiently numerous, it becomes faulty if the 

 facts are too few. Now in England the facts as to the habits of 

 wild Irises are very few indeed. We possess in this country 

 only two wild Irises, I. Pseudacorus and I. foetidissima, and it so 

 happens that the former does love damp, in fact really wet 

 situations, growing best as it does by river sides, while the latter 

 thrives in the shade. But these two Irises are quite exceptional 

 in their habits. Of all the many species belonging to the genus 

 Iris something like sixty per cent, love dry, sunny situations ; 

 indeed, for some of them, as I shall presently point out, no spot 

 can be too sunny or too dry. And as to shade, my experience 

 leads me to believe that I. foetidissima is the only one species in 

 the whole genus which really does well in shady places ; all the 

 rest, including those that need water at their feet, enjoy and 

 benefit by the fullest sunshine on their heads — indeed, for the 

 most part pine away in the absence of it. 



But to return. Compare with the I. germanica which I 

 have just shown you another Iris of a different group "specimen 

 shown]. You see that so far from possessing a conspicuous 

 lleshy rhizome it has a wholly insignificant one, so small that 

 you have to tear the plant to pieces before you can be sure that 

 any at all is present. Look at this thick bush of matted 

 branching roots running out in narrow filaments in . every 

 direction, and bringing the plant in touch with almost every 

 point of the area of soil in which it grows. And note in 

 company with these numerous fine roots the abundant but thin, 

 narrow, flaccid leaves, so different from the broad stout swords of 

 /. germanica. These facts tell us that this Iris is a water-loving 

 plant, accustomed to a steady, ample supply of moisture diffused 

 through the soil, whence the numerous tiny rootlets can pump it 

 up to satisfy the thin grassy foliage. Without such a constant 

 supply these thin leaves would soon flag, and the abundance of 

 rootlets indicates that the water is not brought to it in flushing 

 streams, but has to be extracted with labour out of the soil itself. 

 The features of the plant suggest to us that its native home is in 

 some rich meadow where the water, without becoming visible 

 on the surface as a marsh, may be found in adequate abundance 

 in the soil below. And the suggestion is a true one, for this is 



