SOIL 53 



caucasicum, R. maximum, R. arboreum, and others. They 

 all enjoy a sweet, moist soil, a situation where there is some 

 shelter, and, if it can be provided, just that amount of 

 shade that will break the fierce sunshine of summer. Many 

 of them are hardy as gorse so far as temperature is con- 

 cerned, but they do not all flower sufficiently late to escape 

 frosts in May. Breeders, understanding this, have gene- 

 rally aimed at lateness of flowering. The late Mr. Anthony 

 Waterer refused to recognise as a good garden Rhododen- 

 dron any seedling that was not of strong constitution, large 

 and bold in foliage, compact and conical in flower-head, 

 not easily injured by wind or rain, and that did not open 

 its flowers before June. Such a standard, although excellent, 

 would shut out some of the most charming sorts, and we 

 cannot afford to give up a plant that produces beautiful 

 blooms in May or earlier, even although they may now 

 and then be spoiled by frost. 



SOIL 



However much lime may promote soil fertility, it is quite 

 certain that soils which contain lime in any appreciable 

 quantity are unsuitable for Rhododendrons and Ericaceae 

 generally. Peat is the ideal soil for these plants. But the 

 term peat, like that of loam, is applied to soils most diverse 

 in character. Some peats are so close and acid that no 

 plant will grow in them. Such are the peats of bog land ; 

 yet even these, if drained, broken up, and exposed to the 

 influence of air and frost, become suitable for peat-loving 

 plants at any rate. The light, sandy peat that often occurs 

 in the heaths and moorlands of this country is the best 

 soil for Rhododendrons ; but it is often poor, and re- 

 quires the addition of humus in the form of decayed 



