12 NAT. ORDER. ERICE^. 



delicate pink or rose color. But no plant when cultivated produces i 

 flower more desirable or more ornamental for an American border or 

 shmbbeiy. It is a plant that will produce its flowers in April, by a 

 little forcing-, at a time when rich flowers are more pleasing- than at 

 any other season of the year. An idea in reference to this plant has 

 been started, that " if a hybrid variety could be obtained between 

 Rlwdodcndron arboreum and some one of our hardy species, the result 

 would be a more robust constitution on the one hand, and a greater 

 brilliancy of color on the other ; and also, that if the pollen of the 

 Rhododendron arboreum could be employed, the stature of the hybrid 

 would also be increased." This suggestion has to a certain extent 

 been carried out. The pistil of the Rhododendron ponticum has been 

 fertilized with the pollen of the Rlwdodcndron arboreum, and the re- 

 sult has been that hig-hly ornamental shmbby one produced equally 

 hardy with the RJiododcndron ponticum, equally splendid in regard to 

 the size and color of the flowers with the RJiododcndron arboreum, 

 and blossoming earlier by nearly six weeks than the common sorts. 

 Take this plant all in all, few are better calculated to enliven a collec- 

 tion than the present. 



Propagation and Cultw-e. Of all the genera in existence, Rho- 

 dodendron comprises the most handsome, elegant and showy shrubs, 

 well fitted for adorning shmbberies, or to be grown singly on lawns. 



All the species gi'ow best on peat soil, or veiy sandy loam, or 

 vegetable mould : they are either increased by layers or by seeds. 

 When raised in the latter way, the seeds must be sown early in the 

 spring, in flat pans or pots, filled with peat earth, and covered very 

 slightly ; the pots or pans should then be set in a close frame, or at 

 the front of a hot-house, till the plants come up, watering them very 

 slightly when dry ; and as soon as the seedlings have grown high 

 enough to be laid hold of, they should be planted out into other pans 

 or pots, filled with the same kind of mould ; after which they may 

 stand in a close frame for a few days, undl they have stiiick fresh 

 roots ; and afterwards hardened to the air by degrees. The smaller 



