THE IRIS. 
244 
when the remaining part is dry, the roots may be taken up . 
This, though not positively necessary, is advisable, because some 
of them may get out of their places, or others, by dying, cause 
a blank in the bed next season; while, in some light soils, the 
roots have a habit of running downwards, which has been proved 
to be very detrimental to their future vigour. But it must be 
borne in mind, though beneficial to remove them annually (never 
deferring it beyond two years), the roots should not on any 
account be kept out of the ground more than a month or six 
weeks, and during even that time they should be laid upon the 
ground in some shaded, damp spot. To dry them is most in¬ 
jurious, and few survive a continued exposure to the atmosphere 
beyond the period mentioned. 
Increase of established sorts is readily offered by the offsets 
produced yearly, which only require to be planted in the manner 
of the parent bulbs; and new varieties are almost as easily ob¬ 
tained from seed, which is abundant in most seasons. It should 
be saved only from the largest and best coloured flowers, and 
when fully ripe, which is known by the pods splitting, may be 
cut, and, being wrapped in paper, preserved till the following 
March, when it should be sown, in pans or boxes of light, rich 
earth, and kept in a cold frame till the young plants have grown 
an inch or two. To prevent them becoming drawn after this, 
they should be placed out of doors, and constantly supplied with 
water till the end of June, by which time they will have com¬ 
pleted their season’s growth ; but, from being yet too small to be 
trusted in the open ground, had better be grown in the same box 
through the succeeding year, and, as this may hardly afford them 
sufficient nourishment, the bottom may be taken off, and, in 
spring, the mass of little bulbs cam be plunged into a bed of rich 
mould, where they will attain strength sufficient to enable them 
to bloom in the next season ; after which their treatment will 
be that of mature bulbs. 
The varieties of the Spanish Iris require precisely the same 
treatment, as indeed do all the bulbous-rooted species. I.persica, 
however, being usually grown for forcing, should be potted early 
in autumn, and may afterwards be treated in the manner usual 
with hyacinths ^nd other bulbs intended for the same purpose. 
The tender species, as Z .fimhriata and chinensis, should be grown 
