THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM 45 



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national flower. If such a flower should be chosen, probably the 

 Mountain Laurel would be the most conspicuous candidate for 

 the honor. The Mountain Laurel is not found in any other land, 

 but it is very widespread in America. There is a big collection in 

 the Arboretum, near the South Street entrance, at the base of 

 Hemlock Hill. The flowering of the Laurels is the last of the great 

 Arboretum flower shows of the year, and none of those which 

 precede it are more beautiful, for the Mountain Laurel, or the 

 Calico Bush as it is often called, is in the judgment of many flower- 

 lovers the most beautiful of all North American shrubs or small 

 trees. 



This great Laurel show in the Arnold Arboretum did not happen 

 all at once. Jackson Dawson, the wonderful gardener who helped 

 during all his life to make the world more beautiful, selected many 

 of these Laurel plants in the mountains of Connecticut, Massachu- 

 setts, and New York. 



Not far from the Rhododendrons and Laurels is a collection of 

 Yews, which excite much attention. The Japanese Yew, Taxus 

 cuspidata, is considered by Professor Sargent to be the most gener- 

 ally valuable plant which the northern United States has obtained 

 from Japan. Its native home is in the forest of northern Japan,, 

 where it becomes a tree forty or fifty feet high. It has not grown 

 as tall as in its native country, but is perfectly hardy, and never 

 suffers in the coldest winter. It is an excellent hedge plant, too, 

 and can be used advantageously in the decoration of formal gardens. 



Another very interesting Japanese tree is Acanthopanax ricini- 

 folium. As it grows at the side of a little pond not far from the 

 Forest Hills Entrance, it makes an unusually attractive appearance. 

 This tree belongs to the Aralia family, and the large, drooping 

 leaves resemble in shape those of the Castor Oil Bean. The small, 

 white flowers, which are produced in broad, flat clusters, do not 

 appear until the middle of August, and are followed by small, 

 black, shining fruit. People who want to cultivate a perfectly 

 hardy tree, unlike any tree which is a native of North America or 

 Europe, will find this Acanthopanax highly satisfactory. 



Among the dwarfer Japanese plants the Junipers are especially 

 interesting. They are to be found on the north side of Bussey Hill. 

 The Juniperus chinensis, var. Sargentii, is the handsomest of the 



