194 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



sweetly fragrant flowers which are followed by scar- 

 let fruits. 



Rhododendrons, including Azaleas, will be dealt 

 with in a subsequent chapter but it is permissible 

 to mention here Rhododendron mucronulatum and R. 

 dahuricum. These are deciduous shrubs growing from 

 four to eight feet high and are the earliest of their class to 

 blossom. The flowers are pink or rose in the former, 

 and rose-purple in R. dahuricum. They are natives of 

 cold regions of Mandshuria and Korea, and in New 

 England the flowers are often nipped by late frosts. 

 Both are sparsely branching, and to obtain the best 

 effects they should be massed together thickly in a 

 situation exposed to the air but protected from cut- 

 ting winds and the early morning sun. 



