I S A 
I S A 
■ at their roots fhould be tranfplanted every other year, 
to keep them within bounds, otherwife they will 
fpread fo much as to become troublefome, efpecially 
if they are planted near other flowers •, indeed, the 
large growing kinds are moft of them too fpreading 
for the flower-garden, fo are only fit to fill up the 
fpaces between trees and fhrubs in large plantations, 
where they will have a good effedt during the time of 
their flowering. 
The fifth, fixth, feventb, tenth, eleventh, fixteenth, 
feventeenth and eighteenth forts, grow in lefs com- 
pafs, fo may be admitted into the large borders, or in 
dumps of flowers in the pleafure-garden, where they 
will add to the variety. The fifth fort fhould have a 
warmer fituation, being a little tender, but all the 
other forts will grow in almoft any foil or fituation ; 
thefe may all be propagated by feeds, which fhould 
be fown fbon after they are ripe, then the plants will 
come up the following fpring ■, but if the feeds are 
fown in the fpring, they will lie a year in the ground 
before they vegetate : when the plants come up they 
muff be kept dean from weeds, and the following au- 
tumn fhould be tranfplanted into beds at ten inches 
or a foot diftance, where they may remain till they 
flower, which will be the fecond fummer after trans- 
planting ; but as moft of the forts are fo eafily pro- 
pagated by their roots, few people care to wait for 
feedling plants, unlefs of thofe forts which are fcarce. 
The twenty-firft fort grows naturally in the iflands of 
the Archipelago •, this hath a tuberous knobbed root, 
from which arife five or fix long, narrow, four-cor- 
nered leaves, between which arife the ftalk, which 
fupports one flower, fhaped like thofe of the Iris, but 
fmall, and of a dark purple colour. This flowers in 
April, but does not produce feeds in England. It is 
propagated by the roots, which fend out offsets •, thefe 
may be taken up and tranfplanted when their leaves 
decay, but fhould not be kept too long out of the 
ground. If thefe are planted in a deep loofe foil, the 
roots will run down, and be loft in a few years where 
they are not difturbed, fo they fhould be annually 
tranfplanted, and have a fhallow foil ; they are hardy 
in refpedb to cold, and require no farther care but to 
keep them clean from weeds. 
The twenty-fecond fort grows naturally in the warm 
parts of Europe, but is hardy enough to thrive in the 
open air in England ; the leaves of this fort are broad, 
of a pale green colour ; the flower-ftalks rife taller 
• than the leaves, fupporting one or two white flowers 
which fit clofe to the ftalks. The roots of this are 
ufed in medicine, and is ufnally called Sweet Iris. 
The twenty-third fort hath broad leaves, of a deeper 
preen than thofe of the laft fort. The ftalks rife much 
above the leaves, each having four or five flowers, 
which have a yellow ground, variegated with dark 
brown ftripes, and have a fcent like Elder ; the two 
forts flower the latter end of May, or beginning of 
June. 
They are fo hardy as to thrive as well as the fecond 
fort in the open air in this country, and may be pro- 
pagated by parting of their roots, or by feeds, in the 
fame way as is dire&ed for that fort. 
IRIS bulbofa. 1 c v 
rnron r I- See XlPHIUM. 
1 R I S Perfica. j 
I S A T I S. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 21 1. tab. 100. Lin. Gen. 
Plant. 738. Woad; in French, P aft el. 
The Characters are, 
’The empalement of the flower is compofed of four oval co- 
loured leaves , which fpread open and fall away . The 
flower hath four oblong petals, placed in form of a crofs , 
which are narrow at their bafe , but broad and obtufe at 
their ends. It hath fix ftamina, four of which are as long 
as the petals , the other two are Jhorter ; thefe are ter- 
minated by oblong lateral fiummits. It has an oblong com- 
prefified germen , the length of the two ftoorter ftamina , 
crowned by an obtufe ftigma. The germen becomes an ob- 
long comprejfed pod with one cell , opening with two valves , 
inciofing one oval comprejfed feed in the center. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond feftion 
of Linnaeus’s fifteenth dafs, intitled Tetfl adynamia 
Siliquofa, which - includes the plants whofe flowers 
have four long and two (barter ftamina, and their feeds 
in pods. 
The Species are, 
1. Isatis ( Tindtoria ) foliis radicalibus oblon go-ovatis 
obtufis integerrimis, caulinis fagittatis fiiiculis oblon- 
gis. - Wood with oblong , oval, blunt , entire leaves at 
bottom , but thofe on the ftalks arrow-pointed , and oblong 
pods . Ifatis fativa vel latifolia. C. B. P. 113. Broad- 
leaved cultivated Woad . 
2. Isatis ( Dalmatica ) foliis radicalibus lanceolatis cre- 
natis, caulinis lineari-fagittatis, fiiiculis breVioribus 
emarginatis. IVoad with fpear-Jhaped lower leaves which 
are ftightly crenated, thofe on the ftalks very narrow and 
arrow-pointed, and Jhorter indented pods. Ifatis Dal- 
matica major. Bobart. Greater IVoad of Dalmatia. 
3. Isatis ( Lufitanica ) foliis radicalibus crenatis, caulinis 
fagittatis, pedunculis fubtomentofis. Lin. Sp. 93 d. 
Wo ad with crenated lower leaves, thofe on the ftalks hal- 
bert-Jhaped , and the foot-fialks of the flowers woolly. 
Ifatis fylveftris, minor Lufitanica. H. L. App. Smaller 
wild Portugal IVoad. 
4. Isatis (TEgyptiaca) foliis omnibus dentatis. Lin. Sp, 
937. Woad whofe leaves are all indented. 
The firft fort is cultivated in feveral parts of England 
for the purpofes of dyeing, this being ufed as a foun- 
dation for many of the dark colours. 
This is a commodity well worth propagating in all 
places where the land is fuitable for it, which muft be 
a pretty ftrong foil, but not too moift. 
The plant is biennial, in which it differs from the 
third and fourth fort, which are annual. The lower 
leaves of this are of an oblong oval figure, and pretty 
thick confiftence, when growing in a proper foil; 
they are narrow at their bafe, but broad above, and 
end in obtufe roundifh points, entire on their edges, 
and of a lucid green. The ftalks rife near four feet 
high, dividing into feveral branches, garnilhed with 
arrow-fhaped leaves, fitting clofe to the ftalks ; the 
ends of the branches are terminated by fmall yellow 
flowers, in very clofe clufters, which are compofed of 
four fmall petals, placed in form of a crofs ; thefe are 
fucceeded by pods fhaped like a bird’s tongue, half 
an inch long, and one eighth of an inch broad, which 
when ripe turn black, and open with two valves, 
having one cell, in which is fituated a Angle feed. It 
flowers in July, and the feeds ripen the beginning of 
September. 
The third fort has been fuppofed to be the fame fpe- 
cies as the firft, only differing by culture ; but I have 
propagated both forts more than forty years, and have 
not found either of them alter; there, are alfo very 
efifential differences between the two plants, particu- 
larly in the fhape of the under leaves, which in the 
wild fort are narrow and fpear-fnaped, and thofe on 
the ftalks are not more than half the breadth of thofe 
of the cultivated Woad. The ftalks do not branch 
fo much, and the pods are narrower than thofe of the 
other fort, nor do the roots abide fo long, for they 
generally die the fame year. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in Dalmatia; this is 
a biennial plant; the lower leaves are fpear-fh aped, 
and crenated on their edges, but thofe on the ftalks 
are very narrow and arrow-pointed. The ftalks branch 
more than thofe of the firft fort, and rife higher. The 
flowers are larger, and of a brighter yellow colour. 
The feed-veffels are fhorter, and broader at their ends, 
which are indented. Thefe plants all flower in July, 
and their feeds ripen in September. 
The fourth fort grows naturally in Egypt, and is an 
annual plant, which is too tender to thrive in the open 
air in England, therefore the feeds fhould be fown on 
a hot-bed in the fpring ; and when the plants are fit 
to remove they muft be tranfplanted on a frefh hot- 
bed to bring them forward, but as foon as they have 
taken new root, they fhould have a large fhare of 
frefh air admitted to them daily, to prevent their being 
drawn up weak. In this bed they may remain five or 
fix weeks, by which time they will be fit to transplant 
into pots,, which fhould be carefully performed, not 
to 
