126 SOME SHRUBBY MEADOWSWEETS 



seed in our nursery ripened on our own trees ; but our 

 forester has discontinued doing so, having found that 

 seed imported from Australia produces much stronger 

 plants. 



XXXI 



In these our days, when the influx of new plants 

 some from China and elsewhere far outstrips the 



nfeado*- capacity of any establishment humbler than 

 sweets a botanic garden and its staff', it has become 

 more necessary than ever to exercise discretion in 

 admitting none but the most desirable in any genus. 

 In no genus is there more need for thoughtful selection 

 than among the shrubby Spiraeas, most of which 

 demand ample room to develop their full beauty. 

 Among the June-flowering species Mr. Bean gives the 

 palm to the hybrid Spircea van Houttei, which he 

 esteems as ' probably the finest of all the white-flowering 

 Spiraeas, except perhaps S. arguta,' which is also a 

 hybrid, and flowers in April. It is with diffidence that 

 I find myself at variance with the judgment of so high 

 an authority, to whom we owe that indispensable work, 

 Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Ides; but 

 whatever be the relative merits of the two kinds at 

 Kew, here S. bracteata is incomparably finer than S. 

 van Houttei. We had to decide lately on sacrificing 

 one or other of two fine specimens, one of each variety, 

 which were elbowing each other, and we had little 

 hesitation in removing the Dutchman. 



Both species are profuse in wreathing their bending 

 sprays with snowy hemispherical rosettes in June ; and 



