NATURAL HISTORY. _—_-26y 
on its fummit: The flower is yellow, and compofed 
of five or more petals. The root is fibrous. ‘This 
plant fhould be propagated by offsets, and the roots 
fhould be taken out of the ground, and tranfplanted. 
When their leaves decay, whichis generally trom the 
beginning of ae to Ottober, the roots fhould be 
- planted in fmall clufters, in order to improve the ap- 
pearance of their bloffoms. lf planted alternately 
with {nowdrops, their effect will be the more agreea- 
ble, as they flower about the fame time. 
—SoFcREMEMG HO 
IRIS, 
Tue bulbous iris fhoots forth a ftem, formed of 
long, broad leaves, that are foft, and of a pale green 
colour. In the middle grows a {talk which bears, on 
its top, a fingle leafed flower divided into fix parts ; 
and, in the centre of the flower, is achive of three 
leaves arched. Their flowers are either white, yel- 
low, blue; red or afh colour, and are moft beautiful 
‘inappearance. They are multiplied both by their 
_ feed, and by bulbs. When the feed is to be fown, it 
~ fhould be gathered in July, and preferved until Sep’ 
tember, before it is committed to the foil ; and what- 
ever colour the feed is, you may expect to have a 
flower arife from it of the fame hue, which isa cir- 
cumftance peculiar to the iris, and may account for 
its name, which is derived from a Greek word figni- 
fying to foretell or prefage ; for the feed thus fore 
tells the colour ef the flower. - 
