THE IRIS. 
IN botany this is the generic name of 
a number of beautiful plants be- 
longing to the natural order of 
Iridacea. The plants have a creep- 
ing rootstock, or else a flat tuber, equi- 
tant leaves, irregular flowers, and three 
stamens. They are represented equally 
in the temperate and hotter regions of 
the globe. The wild species of iris are 
generally called blue-flag, and the cul- 
tivated flower-de-luce, from the French 
fleur de Louis, it having been the device 
of Louis VII. of France. Our com- 
monest blue-flag, iris versicolor, is a 
widely distributed plant, its violet-blue 
flowers, as may be seen, upon stems one 
to three feet high, being conspicuous 
in wet places in early summer. The 
root of this possesses cathartic and 
diuretic properties, and is used by some 
medical practitioners. The slender 
blue-flag found in similar localities 
near the Atlantic coast, is smaller 
in all its parts. A yellowish or red- 
dish-brown species, resembling the 
first named in appearance, is found 
in Illinois and southward. There 
are three native species which 
grow only about six inches high and 
have blue flowers. They are found in 
Virginia and southward, and on the 
shores of the great lakes; these are 
sometimes seen as garden plants. The 
orris root of commerce is the product 
of Iris Florentina, I. pallida, and /. Ger- 
manica, which grow wild in the south 
of Europe; the rhizomes are pared and 
dried, and exported from Trieste and 
Leghorn, chiefly for the use of perfum- 
ers; they have the odor of violets. The 
garden species of iris are numerous, 
and by crossing have produced a great 
many known only by garden names. 
The dwarf iris, I. pumila, from three to 
six inches high, flowers very early and 
makes good edgings to borders; the 
common flower-de-luce of the gardens 
is /. Germanica; the elder-scented 
flower-de-luce is /. sambucina. These 
and many others are hardy in our 
climate, and readily multiplied by divi- 
sion of their rootstocks. The mourn- 
ing or crape iris is one of the finest of 
the genus, its flowers being very large, 
dotted and striped with purple on a 
gray ground. The flowers of most of 
the species are beautiful. Some of 
them have received much attention 
from florists, particularly the Spanish, 
English, and German, or common iris, 
all corn-rooted species, and all Euro- 
pean. The Persian iris is delightfully 
fragrant. The roots of all these species 
are annually exported in considerable 
quantities from Holland. The roasted 
seeds of one species have been used as 
a substitute for coffee. 
THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
THE language of flowers is a study 
at once interesting and inno- 
cent, cultivating, as it does, a 
taste for the works of nature, 
filling the soul with the sweetest emo- 
tions and presenting to view one of the 
most enchanting phases of a beautiful 
world full of wonders. Following are 
a few of the best known flowers and 
the sentiments which they represent: 
Sweet alyssum, worth beyond beauty; 
apple blossom, preference; bachelor's 
button, single and selfish; balm, sym- 
pathy; barberry, sourness; candytuft, 
indifference; carnation pink, woman's 
love; Chinese chrysanthemum, cheer- 
fulness under misfortune; clematis, 
mental beauty; columbine, folly; red 
clover, industry; dahlia, dignity ; white 
daisy, innocence; faded leaves, melan- 
choly; forget-me-not, remembrance; 
jonquil, affection returned; lily of the 
valley, return of happiness; myrtle, 
love in absence; pansy, you occupy my 
thoughts; moss rose, superior merit; 
red rose, beauty; white rose, I am 
worthy of love; sunflower, haughtiness; 
yellow rose, infidelity. 
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