"HARDY" RHODODENDRONS 263 



welcome it since it affords much scope and opportun- 

 ity to prove their worth. 



OUR VITAL NEED 



Let us dig casually into the subject and look the 

 facts squarely in the face, and having realized our 

 situation perhaps some one will seize the vast oppor- 

 tunity that awaits. What American gardens need 

 is a race of evergreen Rhododendrons with good foli- 

 age, and large and bright-colored flowers, that is 

 perfectly hardy. It is admitted that the few kinds 

 enumerated earlier have endured the summer drought, 

 the winter cold, and the March sun of New England 

 more or less satisfactorily for a number of years but 

 they are still uncertain and owners breathe freely 

 each May when they find their plants alive and 

 healthy. In Massachusetts large sums of money have 

 been spent on these plants but the results on the whole 

 are discouraging and some who have given much in 

 time, labor, and money in the attempt to make this 

 class of Rhododendrons grow successfully are losing 

 or have lost hope. Such are the facts of the present- 

 day situation in New England and it is pertinent to 

 ask: Is there a remedy or a way out of the difficulty? 



I make bold to say that there is, but it entails 

 beginning again. It means commencing here in New 



