iSyi.] NOTES ON "AMERICAN" SHRUBS. 347 



autumn, or as soon as it is possible to determine which of the plants 

 are best set with flower-buds, and to protect them from frost till it is 

 time to introduce them into heat. 



We note a few of the more distinct and showy species and varieties : — 



K. angust (folia. — This pretty species is a native of Carolina and Penn- 

 sylvania, where it grows in bogs, swamps, and sometimes in high 

 mountain-lands. It rarely exceeds 3 feet in height, forming a thick 

 bush with Myrtle-like leaves of a peculiar light shining green colour, 

 in themselves very ornamental, and contrasting well with the darker 

 green of most other shrubs. The flowers, which are in perfection 

 about the end of June or beginning of July, are of a delicate pink 

 colour, and are produced from the sides of the branches in bunches. 

 It is thoroughly hardy, and will thrive in any situation with the other 

 peat-soil shrubs. There are several well-defined varieties of this species 

 in cultivation, more or less interesting to horticulturists. Of these we 

 can recommend rubra, with darker-coloured flowers, and pumial, a 

 miniature form, with other characters very similar to the species. Both 

 varieties are well worthy of cultivation. 



K. glauca, from Canada and some parts of the United States, is a 

 well-known and beautiful species, growing from 1 to 2 feet high, 

 dense in its habit, with foliage much smaller than that of the preced- 

 ing, of a dark-green colour, and glaucous beneath. The flowers are 

 pale red, and are produced in terminal corymbs. It is a most profuse 

 bloomer, and is generally in perfection in the beginning of April, 

 though in mild springs it is sometimes seen in full bloom in the 

 middle of March. It is the best of the family for very early forcing, 

 and may be had in full flower, with a moderate amount of heat, early 

 in January. 



A moist situation should always be chosen for this species ; and 

 where it cannot be had naturally, it will be found advantageous to 

 supply it liberally with water once or twice during the dry season. 



The varieties usually grown are stricta, a well-marked upright form, 

 and superba, with somewhat larger and higher-coloured flowers, but 

 otherwise very similar to the species ; both of these are fine, and ought 

 to find a place in the peat-beds. 



K. tatifolia, from Canada and a large portion of the United States, 

 popularly known as the Calico Bush or Mountain Laurel, is a magnifi- 

 cent shrub, either in or out of flower, and by far the most showy of 

 the genus. Its leaves are of an ovate lanceolate form, thick in texture, 

 and of a fine shining green colour ; the flowers, which are of a fine 

 red colour, changing to a paler tint, are much larger than those of any 

 of the other species, and are produced in large bunches at the ends of 

 the branches ; they usually expand from about the middle or end of 



