90 THE GOLD MINE 



not wait for the leaves, but opens a perfect snowdrift 

 of white. Having quite a hedge row of them the 

 passers-by in the spring would stop to admire them 

 and ask what they were. They are the heralds which 

 head the procession of beauty. The leaves are fine and 

 delicate, and remain on the bushes till December, and 

 before they fall they change into garments so rich in 

 the varied colors of autumn that a row of them seems 

 to be the last of the flowers. 



'No collection should be without them. 



The lliunhergii is very delicate in appearance — the 

 leaves are small and the tiny white blooms make it 

 ^^a little daisy'' among the group. 



Prunifolia^ or Bridal Wreath blooms next. This is 

 sometimes called the button flower, for it is shaped like 

 a small white button. It has a double blossom like a 

 tiny rose. This is a profuse bloomer, but is not quite 

 as hardy as some of the rest. They bloom about the 

 first of May, the flowers hanging in clusters along the 

 stems before the leaves appear. 



Van Houttei. This is deservedly a great favorite. 

 It seems hardy everywhere, and is such a wholesale 

 bloomer it is one mound Oif beauty. It propagates 

 readily, both from off-shoots and cuttings, and can 

 be had for hedges. It is much used by the railroad 

 gardeners of the East to cover embankments and hide 

 rocks, and when in full bloom it is like riding beside 

 snowbanks of fragrant beauty. 



Callosa has great masses of pink flowers growing in 

 large flat heads, in shape much like the blooms of our 



