30 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



and R. Thomsonii. It forms a large shrub of sturdy habit, 

 and is very free flowering, with loose heads of large, bell- 

 shaped, rosy-red flowers. A darker-flowered variety of it, 

 known as splendens, first bloomed in Mr. Godman's collec- 

 tion about fifteen years ago ; a second form, with rosy-lilac 

 flowers, is Luscombei II. 



No good results have been obtained so far by using 

 as breeders the large-flowered R. Falconeri and R. eximeum. 

 Mr. Anderson Henry raised a hybrid between R. Dal- 

 housice and R. formosum which was named Henryanum. 

 The beautiful Countess of Haddington is a hybrid between 

 R. Dalhousice and R. ciliatum, and Victorianum is a hybrid 

 between R. Dalhousice and R. Nuttallii. Enough is known of 

 R. Dalhousice to justify the belief that it would breed good 

 garden Rhododendrons. We have already the Countess 

 race raised by crossing R. Dalhousice with R. formosum, and 

 it would be worth while to cross R. Dalhousice with some 

 of the most likely species amongst the new introductions 

 from China. The possibilities in this direction are endless. 

 We know that the species in the several sections inter- 

 breed freely, and we are only now beginning to realise that 

 a judicious blending of their characters by cross-breeding 

 would greatly enrich the Rhododendron garden. 



A history of garden Rhododendrons must pay tribute 

 to the work of the Waterers, namely, Anthony Waterer, of 

 Knap Hill Nursery, and John Waterer, of the American 

 Nursery, Bagshot. In these two nurseries many of the 

 best of the R. catawbiense type have been raised. Professor 

 Sargent, writing of garden Rhododendrons in America, 

 stated that in the United States, on the Continent, wher- 

 ever Rhododendrons can be grown, there were the name 

 and fame of Anthony Waterer established. So long ago 



