mest of the tribe; the other
the Gladwyn (_I. foetidissima_), with dull flowers and strong-smelling
leaves, but with most handsome scarlet fruit, which remain on the plant
and show themselves boldly all through the winter and early spring. Of
other sorts there is a large number, so that the whole family, according
to the latest account by Mr. Baker, of Kew, contains ninety-six distinct
species besides varieties. They come from all parts of the world, from
the Arctic Circle to the South of China; they are of all colours, from
the pure white Iris Florentina to the almost black I. Susiana; and of
all sizes, from a few inches to four feet or more. They are mostly easy
of cultivation and increase readily, so that there are few plants better
suited for the hardy garden or more ornamental.

FOOTNOTES:

[99:1] G. Fletcher's Flower-de-luce was certainly the Iris--

"The Flower-de-Luce and the round specks of dew
That hung upon the azure leaves did shew
Like twinkling stars that sparkle in the evening blue."

The "leaves" here must be the petals.

FUMITER, FUMITORY.

(1) _Cordelia._

Crown'd with rank Fumiter and Furrow-weeds.

_King Lear_, act iv, sc. 4 (3).
(_See_ CUCKOO-FLOWERS.)

(2) _Burgundy._

Her fallow leas
The Darnel, Hemlock, and rank Fumitory
Doth root upon.

_Henry V_, act v, sc. 2 (44).

Of Fumitories we have five species in England, all of them weeds in
cultivated grounds and in hedgerows. None of them can be considered
garden plants, but they are closely allied to the Corydalis, of which
there are several pretty species, and to the very handsome Dielytras, of
which one species--D. spectabilis--ranks among the very handsomest of
our hardy herbaceous plants. How the plant acquired its name of
Fumitory--_fume-terre_, earth-smoke--is not very satisfactorily
explained, though many explanations have been given; but that the name
was an ancient one we know from the interesting Stockholm manuscript of
the eleventh century published by Mr. J. Pettigrew, and of which a few
lines are worth quoting. (The poem is published in the "Archaeologia,"
vol. xxx.)--

"Fumiter is erbe, I say,
Yt spryngyth [=i] April et in May,
In feld, in town, in yard, et gate,
Yer lond is fat and good in state,
Du