and when it was taken forth it was instantly held 
up aloft towards heaven. 
Of the numerous species of Iris which are found 
in our gardens, England claims but two as natives 
— the pseudo-acorus, or yellow water-flag, and the 
foetidissima, or Gladwyn. The latter, Gerard calls 
Stinking Gladdon, and prescribes it as a remedy 
for numerous ills which our frail nature is heir to. 
The former of these — Iris pseudo-acorus, has pow- 
erful medicinal properties, mentioned by old au- 
thors as astringent, but stated by modern experi- 
mentalists to be directly the reverse. It is, how- 
ever, astringent to the taste, and has been used in 
combination with iron, in dying black. It is very 
abundant in many parts both of England and Scot- 
land in wet marshy places, and by the sides of 
pools. Hence it is pointed out by nature as a suit- 
able embellishment for the sides of ponds, or other 
water that may occur in the garden or pleasure 
grounds. Henry Phillips, in his Flora Historica, 
says, ‘^It is difficult to imagine an effect more 
agreeable to the eye than to see clumps of these 
yellow flowers reflected in the blue waters of our 
winding streams and ornamental lakes. The em- 
bellishment of such situations, in general, is too 
little understood, and less attended to. We would 
not wish to see the banks of our rivers bearing 
visible marks of art, but the naked expanse of arti- 
ficial lakes is unnatural, — a proportion of aquatic 
plants is necessary to keep up a harmony of 
colouring, and to soften the abruptness of the 
change which the eye catches when waters are too 
suddenly contrasted with the land.” 
