140 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  18,  1897. 
in  the  woods  and  hedges  as  well  as  in  gardens  ;  their  flower- 
wreathed  branches  and  shapely  outlines  are  pictures  of  perfect 
beauty.  With  the  exception  of  C.  pyracantha — which  produces 
bright  scarlet  berries,  and  is  extremely  useful  for  covering  walls 
and  buildings —the  Crataegus  grown  in  gardens  are  varieties  of 
C.  oxyacantha.  Some  of  the  best  are  C.  coccinea  plena  (Paul’s 
double  variety),  C.  foliis  argenteis,  C.  multiplex,  C.  piaecox 
(Glastonbury  Thorn),  C.  punicea  (scarlet- flowering),  C.  flore-pleno 
(double  red),  C.  rosea  (pink  flowering)  and  C.  semperflorens. 
Hawthorns  are  usually  planted  in  the  form  of  standards,  but  as 
bushes  they  are  also  extremely  attractive,  and  wherever  they  are 
planted,  on  the  banks  of  a  lake  or  river,  I  strongly  advise  that  the 
bush  form  be  selected. 
In  my  schoolboy  days  I  claimed  a  strip  of  garden  of  my  own, 
in  which,  growing  against  a  wall,  was  a  fine  old  plant  of  Cydonia 
japonica.  It  received  but  little  attention  in  the  way  of  pruning, 
and  invariably  flowered  splendidly  each  year.  When  in  full  beauty 
my  firm  conviction  was  that  no  garden  in  our  neighbourhood  could 
show  anything  more  lovely  at  that  season  ;  perhaps  I  was  right, 
for  it  certainly  is  one  of  the  “  gems  ”  among  spring  flowering 
shrubs,  suitable  alike  for  growing  against  a  wall  or  as  a  bush  in  an 
isolated  position.  C.  Maulei  is  a  more  recent  introduction  which 
bears  bright  red  flowers,  slightly  smaller  than  those  of  japonica. 
The  habit  of  growth  is  also  more  compact.  Other  good  varieties 
are  C.  coccinea,  C.  flore-pleno,  and  C.  rosea. — H.  Dunkin, 
Castle  Gardens ,  Warwick. 
(To  be  continued.) 
A  GARDEN  IN  THE  ISLE  OF  WIGHT. 
[An  Address  (amplified)  by  Rev.  H.  Ewbank  to  the  members  of  the 
Horticultural  Association  at  Newport.] 
{Continued  from  page  98.) 
Now  we  come  to  the  most  delightful  season  of  the  year,  when  the 
cuckoo  is  heard  and  the  nightingale  sings,  and  when  Irises  blossom,  not 
by  twos  and  threes,  but  in  large  companies.  They  are  my  favourites 
among  all  the  flowers  of  the  year.  Their  hues  are  so  varied  and  delicate; 
their  shapes  so  fantastic  ;  the  contrasts  which  abound  are  so  bold  and 
striking  ;  the  foliage  is  so  pleasant  that  an  Iris  garden  always  has  the 
highest  attractions  for  me.  Dr.  Foster,  the  Professor  of  Physiology  at 
Cambridge,  is  the  greatest  authority  about  Irises,  and  at  one  time  and 
another  he  has  been  very  kind  in  giving  me  help.  If  an  Iris  has  a  fault 
it  can  only  be  found  in  the  fact  that  its  blossom  is  so  very  fugacious. 
Mr.  Caparn  tells  us  that  “  the  majority  of  Iris  blooms  have  a  three- 
days  span  of  existence,”  and  that  one  of  them,  “Iris  sisyrinchium, 
blooms  from  midday  to  three  o’clock,  when,  worn  out  with  old  age,  it 
curls  and  dies."  Irises,  he  says,  inhabit  the  temperate  regions  of  the 
earth.  “  There  is  no  meridian  of  longitude  in  the  land  of  our  northern 
temperate  zone  untenanted  by  an  Iris.  In  latitude  the  greatest  abund¬ 
ance  appears  towards  the  warm  temperate  region  of  40°,  while  they 
rapidly  thin  out  below  30°  or  beyond  60°. ” 
There  are  two  English  species  (fcetidissima  and  Pseudacorus)  ;  France 
has  ten  species  ;  Portugal  and  Spain  contribute  some  bulbous  ones  ; 
Germany,  Hungary,  South  Russia,  and  Turkey  add  to  the  list.  Some 
few  are  found  in  America,  a  few  in  China  and  Japan,  but  the  best  of  all 
the  Irises  are  those  which  come  from  Asia  Minor,  Palestine,  and  Central 
Asia  itself.  The  groups  are  divided,  according  to  Mr.  Baker,  by  “  the 
varying  characters  of  the  very  conspicuous  raised  line  running  along 
the  middle  of  the  outer  or  drooping  petal-fall  of  the  flower.  In  the 
two  groups  of  bulbous  and  beardless  this  line  is  a  raised  or  convex 
ridge.  In  two  other  groups  there  is  more  or  less  thick  line  of  hair-like 
bristles.  In  a  fifth  the  ridge  of  hair  is  spread  out  into  a  broad  flat 
cushion.  A  sixth  section  has  the  line  produced  into  a  creBt  or  comb, 
cut  and  frilled  very  much  in  the  same  manner  as  a  cock’s.”  “  The  Iris  is 
an  historical  flower,  and  after  the  battle  of  Crecy  was  united  with  the 
arms  of  England,  and  remained  so  until  in  the  union  with  Ireland  the 
Shamrock  took  its  place.  Strangely  enough  a  fleur  de  lis  exactly  like 
that  of  the  emblem  of  the  French  monarchy  was  found  surmounting  a 
sceptre  in  a  monument  at  Dendara  in  the  heart  of  Egypt.” 
I  can  only  just  mention  some  two  or  three  species.  Iris  florentiqa, 
which  is  the  emblem  of  the  French  monarchy,  is  a  most  beautiful 
flower  ;  its  colour  is  white,  just  tinged  with  lavender.  Iris  aurea  is 
from  the  Himalayas,  and  of  a  bright  golden  yellow.  Iris  pallida 
dalmatica  is  very  large  and  fragrant ;  it  comes  from  Southern  Europe 
and  Western  Asia.  Iris  spuria  is  also  from  Southern  Europe,  and  very 
much  to  be  admired. 
But  best,  of  all,  the  most  striking  among  all  the  flowers  of  this  earth, 
I  hold  the  Oncocyclue  section  to  be.  They  are,  however,  very  difficult 
to  grow,  and  afford  a  most  delightful  puzzle  to  those  who  take  any 
interest  in  them.  They  come  from  the  plains  of  Asia — from  the  northern 
regions  of  Palestine,  from  the  fastnesses  of  the  Caucasus,  from  Persia, 
and  other  places.  Some  few  were  introduced  by  a  botanist  who  accom¬ 
panied  the  Russian  armies  into  Asia,  and  who  forwarded  them  to  Dr. 
Eegel  at  St.  Petersburg,  by  whom  they  were  distributed  to  Herr  Max 
Leichtlin  and  others.  They  certainly  are,  to  my  mind,  the  most  fasci¬ 
nating  of  all  flowers,  and  of  a  very  aristocratic  appearance  and  of  extra¬ 
ordinary  shapes  ;  the  tracing  on  the  petals  is  exquisitely  delicate.  The 
contrasts  which  they  offer  are  bold  in  the  extreme.  Some  of  them  have 
a  very  silvery  hue,  and  there  is  often  a  transparency  about  them  which 
greatly  adds  to  the  general  effect.  The  blossom  is  very  large,  and  out  of  all) 
proportion  to  the  size  of  the  plant ;  the  leaves  are  narrow  and  sickle  shaped. 
The  habit  of  these  Irises  in  their  own  homes  is  so  utterly  out  of 
harmony  with  anything  which  they  find  here  that  there  must  be 
contrivance  if  they  are  ever  to  do  well  at  all.  Mr.  Selfe  Leonard  has 
well  observed  “  That,  on  the  one  hand,  it  can  scarcely  be  that  the 
requirements  cannot  be  imitated  in  this  climate,  albeit  that  the  right 
method  may  prove  to  be  disagreeably  elaborate  and  artificial,”  for  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  anyone  can  expect  to  accommodate  these  denizens  of 
the  East  with  what  they  want  unless  there  be  some  manoeuvring  for  it. 
If  it  can  be  done  at  all  surely  that  is  enough  for  all  practical  purposes, - 
and  if  their  desires  are  to  be  hit  off  we  must  follow  their  bidding.  I 
wrote  some  time  ago  to  Max  Leichtlin  of  Baden-Baden,  who  is  the  most 
eminent  horticulture!  of  the  day,  for  instruction  on  this  matter.  His 
answer  was,  “  I  often  had  importations  of  these  Oncocycli,  and  wherever 
anything  did  adhere  to  the  roots  it  was  hard  ferruginous  clay.  This  in 
winter  and  spring  is  covered  with  snow  ;  when  meltiDg  the  snow  is 
reduced  to  pulp  for  some  weeks.  After  this  summer  begins,  and  occa¬ 
sional  thunderstorms  and  rains  keep  the  soil  provided  with  some  moisture. 
In  summer  it  gradually  dries  and  becomes  as  hard  as  a  brick,  and  keeps 
the  roots  warm  and  dry. 
“  In  ordinary  winters  the  dryness  in  Asia  Minor  goes  on  till  middle  or 
end  of  November,  then  come  a  few  showers,  and  soon  after  snowstorms.” 
I  had  to  translate  this  into  the  practice  of  horticulture — and  let  me  say 
there  are  two  ways  of  growing  these  Irises,  one  is  of  taking  them  up  and 
keeping  them  dry  for  months,  but  this  is  a  barbarous  method,  for  it 
lacerates  and  injures  the  roots  ;  in  such  a  country,  however,  as  Holland 
it  is  inevitable,  because  the  subsoil  is  always  so  full  of  water.  The 
other  method  I  will  try  to  describe  to  you,  and  to  it  I  adhere.  You  will 
see  at  once  bow  different  the  surroundings  of  these  Irises  are  in  their 
own  country  from  anything  they  get  here.  There  is  a  great  gush  of 
water  when  the  hard  frost  breaks  up,  and  then  they  are  dry  for  the 
summer  months,  and  become  utterly  baked  ;  if  they  are  kept  green,  and 
have  no  rest  in  summer,  there  will  be  no  blossom  in  the  succeeding  year. 
The  difficulty,  therefore,  is  to  account  for  their  peculiarities  ;  so,  to  copy 
their  natural  surroundings  as  to  coax  these  plants  into  flowering,  they 
must  be  put  under  glass  for  a  time,  for  there  is  no  other  way  of  keeping 
them  quite  dry  in  summer,  and  this  is  not  enough,  because  of  the 
moisture  which  rises  up  from  below — very  little  sets  an  Iris  growing. 
I  have  found  that  a  platform  about  8  inches  below  the  soil  made  of 
old  paving  stones  with  interstices  to  let  the  water  off  is  a  good  thing. 
If  the  drainage  is  not  good — if  there  is  the  slightest  stagnation — there  is 
sure  to  be  a  good  deal  of  damage  at  once,  and  then  I  raise  the  beds 
about  4  inches  above  the  surrounding  level,  so  that  the  water  may  in 
great  measure  trickle  off  from  them.  There  must  also  be  good  ventilation  ; 
but  in  winter  there  must  still  tea  sufficiency  cf  moisture,  so  that  the 
Irises  may  be  able  to  grow.  In  this  sort  of  way  I  have  succeeded  in 
blossoming  nearly  every  one  of  these  Oococyclus  Irises,  and  I  have  now 
about  700  of  them,  which  look  as  prosperous  and  happy  as  they  well 
can  do.  I  will  close  this  brief  notice  of  Oncocyclus  Irises  by  quoting  an 
opinion  or  two  of  Prof.  Michael  Foster  regarding  them.  He  says  about 
Iris  Gatesi,  “  To  my  mind,  this  Iris,  when  seen  at  its  best,  with  standards 
and  falls  fully  unfolded,  and  its  delicate  tint  not  yet  marred  by  bruises^ 
raindrops,  or  the  beginnings  of  witherings,  is  of  surpassing  grace  and 
beauty.”  About  I.  paiadoxa  he  writes  : — “  The  total  effect  of  the  flower 
is  very  striking,  and,  unless  an  element  of  grotesqueness  be  thought 
inconsistent  with  beauty,  very  beautiful.”  About  a  variety  of  Irisiberica 
which  he  got  from  Kurdistan,  he  says,  “  It  is  one  of  the  most  lovely 
flowers  I  know.”  See  “Garden,”  February  18th,  1893.  And  Mr.  Caparn 
is  of  the  same  mind  when  he  says,  “  April  and  May,  with  those  happy 
people  who  can  grow  the  Oncocyclus  group  of  Irises,  is  the  cream  of  the 
whole  year.”  See  Journal  of  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  August,  1896. 
A  few  words  must  now  be  given  to  the  Rose,  though  with  such 
rosarians  in  the  island  as  Messrs.  Jeans  and  Spittall,  they  need  not  be 
many.  My  friend  Mr.  William  Paul  has  said  that  “  throughout  the 
civilised  world  undisputed  precedence  among  flowers  is  given  to  the  Rose. 
In  the  sacred  writings,  by  classical  authors,  by  poets  of  all  countries, 
including  our  own  Chaucer  downwards,  this  queen  of  flowers  is  an  epitome 
of  beauty  and  fragrance.  It  has  often  been  the  subject  of  scientific 
monographs  and  floricultural  disquisitions,  and  its  cultivation  affords 
employment  to  thousands  of  human  beings  for  the  manufacture  of  rose 
water  and  attar.  To  take  only  one  instance  of  the  great  store  set  upon 
it,  if  there  is  any  period  of  the  world’s  history  when  flowers  engrossed 
too  much  the  attention  of  a  nation  it  was  under  the  reigns  of  Augustus 
and  subsequent  Emperors  of  Rome.  The  love  of  flowers  was  then  carried 
to  excess,  and  the  Rose  seemed  to  bear  away  the  palm  from  all. 
“  It  was  cus’omary  for  the  wealthy  inhabitants  to  take  their  meals 
resting  on  Rose  leaves,  a  practice  which  Cicero  loudly  condemns.  Roses 
were  scattered  upon  the  beds  and  floors  of  the  chambers  Of  their  guests. 
In  times  of  public  rejoicing  the  sheets  were  strewn  with  flowers,  and  the 
statues  of  the  deities  were  adorned  with  crowns  and  garlands  of  Roses. 
Suetonius  relates  of  the  Emperor  Nero  that  he  spent  four  millions  of 
sesterces,  £30,000,  in  procuring  Roses  for  one  feast.”  Of  this,  however, 
enough.  One  can  only  think  what  a  glorious  time  it  must  have  been 
for  the  Messrs.  Paul  and  Cant  of  those  days. 
I  have  given  this  encomium  at  length,  because  its  glowing  terms  can 
hardly  be  exceeded,  and  no  lover  of  Roses  could  wish  for  anything 
more  ;  but  I  do  not  intend  to  dwell  myself  upon  the  queen  of  flowers, 
one  reason  being  that  it  is  an  interminable  subject,  and  I  have  no  room 
left  for  it ;  another  reason  being  that  it  has  been  already  exhaustively 
handled  by  those  who  are  much  more  competent  to  touch  it  than  I 
profess  to  be.  I  will  merely  give  the  names  of  a  few  species  which  are 
