APPENDIX A 



MENTION may be made of a few species of rhododendron which 

 have been proved to endure the climate of the West of Scotland 

 as far north as Ross-shire. Partial shade overhead is beneficial, 

 and they must be completely sheltered from violent winds. It 

 is best to start them in a compost of peat and coarse sand in 

 equal parts ; afterwards they will thrive in any free or light soil 

 provided it does not contain lime in any form. The flowers of 

 the early kinds may be destroyed by frost in some seasons, but 

 their beauty is so great as to compensate for many failures by 

 success in a favourable year ; and the foliage of most species is 

 so decorative that the plants deserve cultivation for that alone. 

 What is most to be dreaded is frost in April or May, after 

 growth has begun. This too often destroys the terminal shoots 

 and buds, but their place will be taken by the secondary ones. 

 As most of these rhododendrons are costly, it will be prudent 

 to proceed tentatively at first with a few of the hardiest species, 

 which are marked in the following list by an asterisk (*), and to 

 give them every possible advantage of shelter from wind. 



[The above was written before the destructive frost of 24th April 1908, 

 which caught early rhododendrons in full growth and destroyed masses of 

 bloom. Probably it has also ruined the prospects of next year's blossom, for 

 the secondary growths are feeble and bear few flower buds.] 



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