Shrubs and Vines 



ing it stagger bush ; but it thrives serenely unconscious 

 of the odium. 



Another mythological genus is Cassandra, with ap- 

 parently only one species, calycidata, or leather-leaf. 

 Its thick-leaved foliage is impaired by its rusty appear- 

 ance beneath ; but in early spring the long, one-sided 

 racemes of small white bell-shaped flowers are very 

 pretty. The buds are so advanced in the previous 

 August that they look as if almost ready to break into 

 flower; but they ''bide a wee," and come out bright 

 and early the following year. 



Zefwbia speciosa is too proud a name for a small shrub, 

 the only one of its genus, with white, waxen flowers of 

 the heath type, small but multitudinous, and with an 

 added interest from its long popularity, if it be true, as 

 asserted, that it was cultivated as long ago as that famous 

 lady of Palmyra lived. It is closely allied with the 

 three foregoing genera, mingles well with growths of 

 other types, and is sufficiently distinctive to be of inter- 

 est to the mere flower-lover as well as to the botanist. 



Laurel is an exclusively American genus — a compar- 

 atively rare occurrence in vegetation ; and if we would 

 do ample justice to '' home production," this beautiful 

 growth would be oftener seen in cultivation. Like 

 azaleas and rhododendrons, this virile group forms a 

 small and characteristic section of the notable and ex- 

 tensive heath family, which, besides the above-named, 

 large-flowered and hardy sorts, furnishes many of the 

 most delicate and minute forms of inflorescence found 

 in conservatories. 



The finest species of laurel is the broad-leaved or 

 153 



