IRELAND AND WALES 47 



first hybrids, the plants equalling in health and vigour those 

 in the Cornish gardens. Castlewellan, made famous by 

 the late Lord Annesley, contains a very large number of 

 Rhododendrons, many of them beautiful examples of cul- 

 tivation and proofs that the soil and climate of the district 

 are what Rhododendrons like ; for no plants are more 

 difficult to keep in health if these conditions are lacking, 

 nor do any plants give less trouble or respond more readily 

 to ordinary care than Rhododendrons do when the con- 

 ditions are favourable. 



At Singleton, near Swansea, there is a good collection 

 of Himalayan species and many of the best hybrid and 

 garden seedlings. The species are said to have been raised 

 from seeds collected in the Himalayas by Colonel Sykes, 

 who sent them to the Director of the Edinburgh Botanic 

 Garden, who shared them with Sir Hussey Vivian, after- 

 wards Lord Swansea. Some of the specimens are of 

 exceptional size : R. Thomsonii, 20 feet high ; R. barbatum, 

 33 feet ; R. Hodgsonii, a magnificent bush, 12 feet ; and 

 R. Falconer i, 30 feet, the trunk 3 feet in girth and the head 

 1 8 feet through. The height of these specimens is partly 

 due to their having been planted in a valley under the shade 

 of tall trees. 



The collections mentioned must only be considered re- 

 presentative. There are many others ; some of them, no 

 doubt, quite as worthy as any of those mentioned here. 

 One of the best collections of the catawbiense race is that 

 at the residence of the late Baron Sir Henry Schroder, 

 The Dell, Egham, Surrey. 



