any means certain that it is therefore a native of China, 
as it is commonly believed to be; and for the following 
reasons. In the first place, no trace is to be found among 
the writers upon Chinese plants of such a thing as a yellow 
Azalea—a circumstance which is not likely to have occurred 
if so beautiful a species as the present had either been long 
cultivated in the Chinese Gardens, or been a native of their 
country. In the second place, this plant has as little affinity 
to the genuine Chinese Azaleas as it can have to remain in 
the same genus with them; and thirdly, it does not seem 
to us practicable to distinguish it from the Azalea pontica, 
from which it differs chiefly in its head of flowers being 
more compact, its stamens shorter, and the upper segment 
of the corolla being spotted. We think it extremely pro- 
bable that these yellow Chinese Azaleas have found their 
way to China from the Caucasus, by the intervention of 
some of the Russian caravans which annually visit Nert- 
chinsk for the purpose of trading with the Chinese. 
However this may be, we are clearly of opinion that it 
is not botanically separable from the species to which we 
have referred it. 
Probably quite hardy. Messrs. Loddiges have hitherto 
kept their plants in the Greenhouse; and the specimen 
from which this drawing was taken was also produced in 
a Conservatory: but we think there can be no reasonable 
doubt of its being as patient of cold as the species of which 
we consider it a variety. E 
