JANUARY 177 



Crinodendron is a grand exception. Its nearest neigh- 

 bours on each side of it consist of plants of the Abutilon 

 vitifolium and Carpenteria calif ornica, both of which stood 

 the winter ; and the former, from having come on so well, 

 will be bound to flower next season. It has a great 

 name now, especially in Ireland, for hardiness and for its 

 beautiful blossoms. I possess in my " Eiviera " a number 

 of things, of which I know little or nothing, with queer 

 names, such as Coprosmas, Collestemons, Aristotelias 

 Pittosporums, Raphiolepis, Agalmas, Styrax, Indigoferas, 

 etc. ; and, in spite of their names, I must say they look 

 happy.' 



As from the other letter, I only extract what seems to 

 me most interesting. ' I must now tell the contents of 

 my Azalea bed, already referred to, all of which I got 

 from M. Louis van Houtte of Ghent. There are sixty 

 plants in sixty different varieties or species. There are 

 single and double hardy Ghent Azaleas, and single Azalea 

 mollis, and double hybrids of Mollis. They occupy 

 the bed, with the exception of a clump of Phyllostachis 

 viridi glaucescens and Phyllostachis mitis (Bamboos) 

 in the centre, and I can truly say there was not a bad 

 plant or a bad variety among the lot, and every one of 

 them was full on arriving. If anyone wants a brilliant 

 edging to a Rhododendron bed, let me commend to them 

 Azaleas, Fritz Quihou and Gloria Mundi ; the former is 

 of an extraordinarily dazzling crimson. Many people are 

 of the opinion that the flowering season of Azaleas is 

 short and soon over, but this would not happen if they 

 got a good selection from M. van Houtte. I see from my 

 diary that the first Azaleas expanded with me on May 18th, 

 and they did not finish till July 24th, so that they lasted 

 more than nine weeks. About the last to open were the 

 pink and the crimson doubles, .Bijou de Gendbruggen and 

 Louis Aime van Houtte, and the lovely species Sinensis 



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