268 



RHUS. 



viously known yellow Rhododen- 

 di"ons quite in the shade. 



All the American Rhododendrons 

 are what are called hair -rooted 

 plants ; and they are all grown in 

 sandy peat, or in deep sandy loam. 

 They may also be grown even in 

 stiflf clay, if it be kept moist ; but 

 the worst soil for Rhododendrons is 

 that of a well-manured garden, par- 

 ticularly if the situation be a dry 

 one ; as this kind of soil has not 

 tenacity enough to enable it to ad- 

 here to the fine hair-like roots of 

 these plants. All the Rhododen- 

 drons may be propagated by cuttings 

 of the young shoots, taken off while 

 they are in a growing state — by 

 layers, and by seeds. The latter is 

 the most general mode, as the seeds, 

 which are very small, and look like 

 saw-dust, are ripened in great abun- 

 dance in the months ot August and 

 September ; and the seeds of the 

 American kinds are imported every 

 year in large quantities from Ame- 

 rica. They are also now propagated 

 by budding in the open air. All 

 the Rhododendrons and Azaleas 

 may be removed at almost any sea- 

 son, and when of almost any size, 

 if taken up -nith a ball of earth 

 round the roots. The best seasons, 

 however, for removing them are 

 spring and autumn. It may be ob- 

 served that Rhododendron seed will 

 remain good for several years, 

 though, when practicable, it is best 

 to sow it as soon as it is ripe, as 

 the plants wull come up much 

 sooner. All Rhododendrons should 

 be grown in a shady, moist situation, 

 and they will all thrive under the 

 drip of trees. 



Rhodo^ra. — Ericaceae. — JRhodo- 

 ra canadensis is a very pretty little 

 plant, a native of Canada, resem- 

 bling the dwarf Rhododendrons, 

 excepting that the flowers are much 

 smaller, and the leaves are decidu- 



ous. It is quite hardy, and only 

 requires to be grown in peat earth, 

 kept moist. It flowers in the open 

 ground in April ; but it may easily 

 be forced by keeping it under glass, 

 and giving it a little heat, so as to 

 flower at Christmas. 



Khu's. — Terebinthacece, or Ana- 

 cardiacecB. — Sumach. — Deciduous 

 shrubs, natives of Em-ope, Asia, and 

 America, interesting from the beau- 

 tiful colours which their leaves as- 

 j sume when dying off in autumn. 

 All the kinds are more or less poi- 

 sonous. Rhus Cotinus, the "Virgi- 

 nian Sumach, is called the Periwig 

 Tree both in French and German, 

 from the curious appearance of its 

 seed-vessels, which look like a jiow- 

 dered wig. It is a very ornamental 

 shrub, often growing ten or twelve 

 feet high, and flowering abundantly. 

 It grows best in a dry loam, and it 

 is propagated by layers. Rhus Uj- 

 pkina, the Stag's-horn Sumach, has 

 received its name from the singular 

 appearance of the young shoots, 

 which are covered with a soft velvet- 

 like down, resembling that of a young 

 stag's horn, both in colour and tex- 

 ture. The leaves are imparipinnate, 

 with eight or ten pairs of leaflets, 

 and they die off of a beautiful 

 purplish-red in autumn. The flowers 

 aie ijroduced in terminal spikes, and 

 they are succeeded by deep purplish- 

 red woolly fruit. RhUs glabra, the 

 scarlet Sumach, has red flowers, and 

 rich velvet - looking dark - scarlet 

 fruit, which becomes crimson as it 

 ripens. Rhus veraicifera, the Var- 

 nish or Japan Sumach, is a green- 

 house plant in England ; but in 

 India and in Japan it is grown in 

 large plantations, for its gum, which 

 issues from the tree when wounded, 

 and forms the finest varnish in the 

 world. Rhiis venenata, the Swamp 

 Sumach, or Poison-wood, has so 

 virulent a sap that it occasions fever 



