54 MASSACHUSETTS HOETICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Hovey replied that it is evergreen, and has every appear- 

 ance of a small-leafed rhododendron ; the buds have a scaly look 

 like those of the rhododendron, and have not a capsule like azaleas. 

 He thought Mr. Loudon was right in classing the azaleas as a sec- 

 tion of the rhododendrons, the only difference being that the 

 azalea has five stamens and the rhododendron ten, and the former 

 is deciduous, while the latter is evergreen. In the same way the 

 geraniums and pelargoniums, which were formerly classed as sep- 

 arate genera, are in England now generally spoken of as one. 



Mr. Hovey referred to the " sports," which were a subject of 

 discussion on a former occasion. He had on exhibition to-day 

 blooms of his seedling camellias, with a red flower on the end of 

 the shoot, and a white flower within an inch of it. As a general 

 thing sports do not go back, the striped pears for example ; but 

 Mrs. Pollock geranium does. He had red and white flowers 

 back to back, and had found no limit to the variations, and had 

 paintings made of several of the most striking. 



Mr. Wilder wished Mr. Hovey would mark a self-colored flower 

 and graft from the shoot bearing it. His position was that self-col- 

 ored sports are always preserved by grafting, and are permanent. 



Mr. Hovey said that he had tried the experiment, and had onl}^ 

 one plant that had not sported ; sooner or later they all break. 



Mr. Wilder said the plant of Anna Maria Hovey, which he had 

 from Mr. Hovey, always produces a self-colored, pinkish flower. 

 Striped flowers will sport from their inherent quality. 



Mr. Hovey said the original plant of the variety mentioned by 

 Mr. Wilder has this year produced two flowers back to back ; one 

 white, the other red. The top was inarched off and propagated 

 indiscriminately. He agreed with Mr. Wilder as to the general 

 rule of sports. The exceptions are few and mostly among the 

 azaleas ; but this camellia is also an exception. 



John B. Moore here exhibited three azaleas, white, rose-colored, 

 and white tinged with rose, all taken from one plant. 



Mr. Wilder said he had an azalea with two-thirds of the lower 

 part of the bush white, and a shoot from the centre bright lilac. 

 He noticed this sport and cut away the lower part of the plant, and 

 it had become permanent. The Azalea Wilderi, which is white, 

 with rarely a little stripe of pink, has a large branch of a sport 

 which is clear pink, and has retained this color for many years. 



