Jcne 29. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
233 
sent home tho Peacock Iris, and that many plants men¬ 
tioned by him have never been since heard of. Nerine 
marginata was found by Masson on that .route, and by 
no other collector since. Jacquin is the only author 
who figured Nerine marginata ; he, also, was the first 
who figured the Peacock Iris, and the two plates are not 
far apart in the same work, “ Plantarum rariorum Horti 
Cresarei Schcenbrunensis,” a folio work, in four volumes, 
completed in 1804. This, also, is presumptive evidence 
that the Peacock Iris is a native of the north-west coast 
of the Cape colony; that it, and Nerine marginata, was 
sent to Jacquin at the same time; that botli flowered 
with him the same year, and that he figured them to¬ 
gether; but the Peacock Iris was described previously, 
without a figure, by Linnaeus. It was figured in Lon¬ 
don about the same time by Andrews, in his “ Botanists’ 
Repository,” from a plant sent to Mr. Hibbert by Mas¬ 
son, who also sent it to Kew at the same time. It 
was sent home several times before then (1797), accord¬ 
ing to a memorandum by Andrews, which says, “ its 
whole life in Europe rarely exceeds a single year.” My 
own belief is, that the plant from which Andrews took 
his figure was the last of the Peacock Iris that flowered 
in England; and that the plant in the Sehoenbrun 
Garden, from which Jacquin took his plate, was soon 
afterwards lost in Germany; and lastly, that there is 
not a single individual alive now who has ever seen the 
Peacock Iris growing. All the plants that are figured 
in the “ Botanical Magazine,” for the Peacock Iris, 
are only different kinds of Morcea, otherwise called 
Vieusseuxia, and all the Peacock Irises of the seed- 
trade are ditto, and nothing more. I thought all along 
that 1 knew the true Peacock Iris; and I believe my 
plant, which 1 had from the late Mr. Young of Taunton, 
was never figured. Mr. Young had his roots direct 
from the Cape; but I am not aware that auy collector 
since Masson’s time explored the sea-coast from Cape 
Town to the Orange River. At all events, we never 
had the true Peacock Iris home since Masson's time. 
These inquiries were made in consequence of the 
following letter from a correspondent:— 
“ I am able now to send you the reference to Iris 
pavonia , of which I spoke in a communication forwarded 
to you last week. The book is ‘ Andrew’s Botanical 
Repository,’plate 364. If you cannot obtain access to 
to the book, I shall be glad to send the extract. He 
refers to ‘ Jacquin’s Collectanea,’ and, I think, to 1 Will- 
denow’s Species Plantanum,’ pi. 1. 238, for descriptions. 
I am afraid you will think I trouble you much about 
this small bulb, but I have lately so frequently seen it 
stated that it is to be purchased at any of the seed-shops, 
and this by such respectable authorities, that I wish to 
point out the confusion between the true I. pavonia and 
Vieusseuxia glaucopis. I cannot get it anywhere, what¬ 
ever others may do; and Andrews says, ‘ its whole life 
in Europe rarely exceeds a single year;’ so there is error 
somewhere. “ A. R. 
“ The confusion is evident, from a reference to Lou¬ 
don’s 1 Hortus Britaunicus,’ voce Vieusseuxia. Tho bulb 
I want is there called Vieusseuxia paconica." 
All the surmises arising out of the inquiry are mine ; 
but for the facts I can vouch, as I had assistance from 
the highest botanical authority in England in searching 
them out; and now I shall give a fireside description of 
the true Peacock Iris, and I hope some one will lay a 
train by which the plant, and the Amaryllis with the 
red line all round the edges of the leaf (Nerine margi¬ 
nata) may be got from the north-west coast of the Cape 
of Good Hope. The great purple and crimson Lily 
(Crinum Forbesianum) from the banks of the Delagoa 
River, on the other side of the colony, is likewise a great 
desideratum in our collections. 
The roots, or bulbs, of the Peacock Iris are quite black, 
of au oblong shape, and rather larger than any of the 
Ixia bulbs; the leaves are narrow, and from a foot to 
fifteen inches long ; they bend over like the tail-feathers 
of a fowl; the scape, or flower-stem, has two or three 
joints, with a knee at each, making it look zig-zag fashion; 
the ground colour of the flower all over is a dull reddish- 
brown, rather darker than is meant by latcritia, or 
brick colour. The greenish-blue spots, from which it is 
named, are quite as intense and brilliant as those in 
the feathers of the Peacock. Our flower painters seem 
to have lost the secret of giving this metallic lustre 
without mixing something which destroys the rest of 
the colour in a few years; but in Jacquiu’s plates all 
the natural colours are as perfectly seen to this day as 
they were in the flowers at the time. The nearest 
flower that I can liken it to in size, shape, and substance, 
is Gypella Herberti, only that the Iris is of a duller 
ground colour. Some of the Moraas that have gone by 
j the name of Peacock Iris, particularly the large white 
! ones, are more handsome than the real Iris, all except 
j the peacock spots; but then the contrast between the 
spots and the white ground in Moraas is far better 
' than that between the spots and the dull-red ground of 
the true Peacock Iris. D. Beaton. 
THE SPOT ON PELARGONIUMS. 
This evil has been more than usually prevalent this 
spring. I had seen little of it for a number of years, 
but this season I have several nice plants much injured in 
their appearance. Some of my acquaintances, and good 
growers in general, have suffered rather severely. Many 
and different inquiries have been made respecting it, 
which 1 will allude to in answer to the following ques¬ 
tions, hoping that some one more experienced may bo 
able to suggest something more definite. 
1. What is the spot ? What is it like ? Some people 
are so morbid, that they believe they either have, or 
j have had, all the diseases that flesh is heir to. Works 
on domestic medicine may be useful in many cases ; 
from all such hypocondriasts they should be carefully 
sealed up. It matters not what disease they read about, 
they are sure to have all the symptoms. Just so with 
some of our floricultural friends that will look so much 
to the black side of things, that their continued honour¬ 
able perseverance I have looked upon as little less than 
a miracle. Just imagine a most worthy fellow, possess¬ 
ing some nice little plants, because they do not resemble 
some neighbour’s, who has cultivated his differently, 
and for a different purpose, fretting and waking when 
he should be sleeping, and wondering if he can have got 
this wondrous spot, or not! Old growers, who have 
never seen this pest, may be considered fortunate in 
their ignorance, and as successful in their culture as my 
worthy friend, who beat everybody for many years in 
1 growing Cucumbers, and yet had never seen a green fly 
j upon them. Those who have really got the spot on a 
plant, will be in no danger of not knowing what they have 
j got. They who have never seen it, or are uncertain 
! about it, may form a very good idea of the appearance 
it presents if they could conceive of a quantity of lead 
shot, from the size of pin-lieads to that of small peas, 
heated as much as possible, and then retained, in a scat¬ 
tered manner, on the surface of the leaf, until the parts 
on which they rested were heated and scalded through. 
The petiole, or footstalk, of the leaf is frequently marked 
in a similar manner, and in very bad cases the young 
shoots are also similarly affected. It generally makes 
its appearance first on the oldest and most succulent 
leaves, and from small dots continues to spread until 
the leaves become unsightly; and in extreme cases, fine 
flowers may be seen on plants pretty well as naked as 
a fowl would be that had lost most of its feathers. 
2. Is the spot infectious? Some say, Yes; and lyould 
! 
