THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 21, 1903. 
160 
read with advantage Sir Arthur Help’s “ Organisation in Daily 
Life,” Professor Blackie’s “ Advice to Young Men,” and Sir 
John Lubbock’s (now Lord Avebury) charming volume, “ The 
Pleasures of Life”—all strong helps towards the making of 
character. As one of the greatest of gifts a gardener can 
possess or acquire is the gift of expression, the art of saying 
or doing something for the information or delight of others, I 
hope to say something about it in my next paper. 
Iris unguicularis speciosa.' 
The typical form of the above is better known under the name 
of Iris stylos a, which is now well known as one of the most 
useful and certain of winter flowering Irises, in the open air. 
In the Channel Islands we have seen it commence blooming 
about the first week in October, but in the more northern 
latitude of London it is more usual for the species to commence 
flowering in December, and to' continue from this onwards, 
during the next month or two. The exact period during which 
it will bloom depends much upon the character of our winter, 
whether mild and open, or otherwise unsuitable. 
The flowers of the ordinary form are of a pale lavender-blue, 
with a yellow blotch on the falls. The variety I. u. speciosa 
is new, and, as far as we have ascertained, it was first offered 
by Messrs. R, Wallace & Co. in 1899 and since. It was 
figured in a Vienna, journal, however, in 1891. Our illustration 
represents a pan of this beautiful variety, which was exhibited 
by them at the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on 
the 10th inst. The most conspicuous feature and the distinc¬ 
tions which mark out this variety are the large size of the 
flowers, their rich colour and the length of the tube of the 
perianth, by comparison with that of the foliage. In other 
words, avo believe it is described as a variety having dwarf 
foliage, but that shown on the 10th inst. was much about the 
ordinary height, while the flowers were conspicuously noticeable 
on account of their size and their height above the soil. 
The flowers are of a deep purple-blue, with a yellow blotch 
on the disc extending down the claw, and on either side of this 
the claw is marked with white and purple lines. The standards 
are similar in colour, but a red shade on the claw is even more 
distinct and striking than in the case of the falls. The crests 
of the stigmas are lilac. 
Two other varieties of this beautiful Iris are known—namely, 
I. u. alba and I. u. marginata. The first of these two will 
always remain choice, and has been considered so since the 
time it was first discovered about twenty-nine years ago. It 
was first found a few miles inland from the town of Algiers by 
the Rev. Edwyn Arkwright, who dug it up and planted it in 
his garden, where it increased very rapidly, and has been 
distributed to various gardens in this country and on the Con¬ 
tinent. So far as we know, no other wild plant of it has yet 
been discovered. As far as size and colour are concerned, I. u. 
speciosa is certainly the best and most showy, and we hope it 
will prove equally as hardy and free of growth as the type. 
The fibrous roots and tufted habit of I. unguicularis, and its 
several varieties, readily -permit of propagation by division of 
the clumps in spring after flowering lias been completed ; and 
if the newly-planted piece® are attended to with watering in 
the event of diy weather, they soon become re-established. 
Scarcely any exotic Iris takes more kindly to cultivation; but, 
as the plants flower during our inclement season, care should 
be taken to select a sheltered position at the foot of a south 
aspect wall for it. The front Avail of a stove or other similarly 
warm house should be selected for preference, as the little 
warmth emanating from such a Avail has the effect of stimulat¬ 
ing the plants during winter in a similar manner to 1 Amaryllis 
Belladonna Avhen grown under like conditions. The cultivator 
should also take care that no drip from the eaves of the house 
is allowed to fall into the heart of the plants, as that would 
greatly nullify the object in view, seeing that this Iris is a 
native of the diy climate and sandy soil of Algiers. 
* See page 159. 
Lilacs for Forcing. 
Of the numerous hardy shrubs suitable for forcing, the Lilac 
is, at the same time, one of the best and most popular, for 
not only are plants very useful for the decoration of conser¬ 
vatory, greenhouse, or room, but the floAvers are exceedingly 
useful for cutting," and in almost all kinds of floral arrange¬ 
ments they find a prominent place. As to Avhether the forcing 
of the Lilac is a difficult operation or not depends to a great 
extent on the preparation the plants have had beforehand, and 
the period Avhen the floAvers are required. If flowers are 
wanted for Christmas the plants have to have a great deal of 
care bestowed on them ; but if they are not required until 
the end of February or March no more trouble need be ex¬ 
perienced than is experienced in the forcing of a general col¬ 
lection of shrubs. 
The great item to be taken into consideration in the pro¬ 
duction of good heads of flowers is the proper preparation of 
the plants beforehand ; for it is no use going to the trouble 
and expense of forcing large plants if a few weak heads of 
flowers are the only result, and such is often the case Avhen 
the plants have had no special treatment. 
Gardens Avliere forcing is done to any great extent should 
have a reserve ground where the shrubs can be cultivated pre¬ 
vious to forcing. Good plants specially prepared for forcing 
can be readily obtained from the nurseryman in places where 
money is no object; but there are a great many places where 
the gardener is expected to grow his own plants, and in these 
places the value of a reserve ground is very evident. As a 
rule, Lilacs grown in gardens are given very little attention, 
with the result that they are usually thickets of weak branches 
not one-tenth of which produce blossoms. Out of doors this 
is bad enough, but it can be more easily put up with AA-hen 
the plants are groAving in some out-of-the-way shrubbery than 
when they are required for indoor work and a great deal of 
time and care has to be bestoAved on them, together with a 
large expenditure of money on houses and fuel. 
From this it is seen that the greater proportion of branches 
on the plants must be floAvering branches, and it is to a 
great extent in the hands of the cultivator as to Avhether 
he is to produce this kind of plant or not. A good plant for 
forcing should consist of a single stem rising to a height of 
from 3 in. to 12 in. from the ground line. From this stem 
a frame-work of good strong branches should rise, which, in 
autumn, should be terminated with floAver-buds, The plants 
may either be budded on stocks of common Lilac or may be 
grown from layers or even cuttings ; but whichever Avay they 
are started, care should be taken to have but a single stem 
for a base, all suckers being removed as they appeal 1 . If, in 
the first instance, plants specially prepared for forcing are 
procured, it Avill be a great help, but if plants that have pre¬ 
viously been growing in shrubberies are to be used they should 
be given twerte months’ preparation before they are forced. 
The production of floAver-producing wood depends to a great 
extent on pruning, and without this is properly attended to 
Avell-flowered plants cannot be obtained. Pruning will require 
to be done at several different times. Firstly, in winter or 
spring, all weak inside branches should be removed, together 
Avith suckers, if there are any, and a good proportion of the 
thin outside branches, leaving only a framework of the 
strongest shoots. In spring, when groAvth is active and young 
shoots 3 in. or 4 in. long have been made, a further thinning 
is necessary, removing the inside branches and the weakest of 
the outside branches. If, after this, another set of young 
shoots appear, a further thinning will be necessary. This 
thinning has the effect of throwing all the strength which 
Avould have gone towards the production of useless Avood into 
the permanent branches, and also of admitting light and air 
to all parts, the combination of these effects being respon¬ 
sible for strong, thoroughly-ripened, flower-producing Avood. 
TcAvards the middle of August all plants that are suitable for 
forcing should have their roots cut round Avith a spade at 
a suitable distance from the stem, opening the ground a little 
at the same time by forcing back the soil from the ball; this 
