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shaped cup which comes down over the nut from a 

 third to about a half. The acorns occur singly or 

 several (not more than four, generally) together in a 

 cluster in the axils of the leaves. This tree stands 

 almost in the centre of the Ramble. 



Rhododendron maximum. (Great Laurel. Rose 

 Bay. Near No. 4.) Close by the dwarf horsechest- 

 nut, in the southwesterly part of the Ramble, indeed 

 quite filling up the whole stretch of bank-side along 

 the left of the path, here, are superb masses of this 

 handsomest of native laurels. You can know them 

 by their large alternate leaves (evergreen) which are 

 thick and smooth, and have their margins slightly 

 rolled back in a manner that botanists term revolute. 

 These leaves are from four to ten inches long, and are 

 glossy dark green on the uppersides, but of a pale 

 yellow green on the undersides. They have a lance- 

 oblong form, and have a way of hanging down like 

 a partly closed umbrella. In winter the leaves often 

 curl and roll up into cylindrical form, easily distin- 

 guishing them. The leaves are acute, at the tip, and 

 rather roundish wedge-shaped at the base. In June 

 and July this royal shrub bursts into glories of bloom 

 that well stir your enthusiasm. From pale rose, 

 through all the intermediate hues to white, the great 

 corymb-clustered flowers burst their wealth of color 

 upon your delighted eyes. The flaring corollas liter- 

 ally glow with life and light, fair as pearled shells, 

 fragrant as the breath of the morn, and lit with the 

 hues of those first faint streaks that tremble upon the 

 sky at dawn. Are they not wondrous! Look down 



