27 



AZALEA altaclerensis. 

 The Hiyhclere Azalea, 



GARDEN VARIETY. 



For the following account of this beautiful seedling 1 am 

 indebted to J. R. Govven, Esq., whose skill in the production 

 of hybrid plants is well known to all lovers of those beautiful 

 creations. 



" This, the most charming, perhaps, of hardy Azaleas, 

 uniting to the utmost beauty of form and arrangement of 

 colour, a most delicious fragrance, is one of the many additions 

 made to our horticultural treasures in this family by the 

 Gardens at Highclere. 



" It was produced by fertilizing the flowers of Azalea 

 sinensis with the pollen of the late flowering variety of Azalea 

 viscosa, called by the nurserymen Azalea rubescens major. 

 It bears the most decided evidence of its double parentage 

 havinsf the glaucous foliage and inflorescence of Azalea sinen- 

 sis modified by the pale crimson tints of Azalea rubescens 

 major. It is most profuse of its odorous flowers, which 

 cover the whole bush, and is altogether a very striking pro- 

 duction. I have named it Alta-Clerensis in commemoration 

 of its origin.*' 



The following fact, connected with this plant, may be 

 interesting to some of our readers. When the branch now 

 drawn was sent me, I stripped ofi^ a twig or two of the young 

 wood, inserted their ends in a phial of water, and placed 

 them under a Ward's case in a sitting room. There they 

 remained for nearly three months, healthy, but scarcely grew ; 

 they however formed a callosity at the lower end, and I have 

 no doubt would have rooted if I had possessed the means of 

 giving them a little bottom heat. I had, however, no con- 

 venience of the kind, and before the end of the experiment 



