THE RHODODENDRON 119 



Trees axe scarce in the heath family. Shrubs are in the 

 majority. The azaleas, which the Belgian gardeners 

 have brought to such perfection and developed in such a 

 great number of varieties, are among the best knowm of 

 the heaths. The profuse blossoms in potted azaleas 

 entirely extinguish the foliage, and the flowers are almost 

 as lasting as if they were artificial. 



The genus rhododendron in American woods is repre- 

 sented by a mountain shrub and a tree. Both are ever- 

 green and both are widely planted for ornament during 

 the entire season. Carloads of these wonderful plants 

 are shipped from the mountain slopes of the Alleghanies 

 for mass planting on rocky ground, and to cover embank- 

 ments along the drives in great estates. Because of the 

 altitude of their native habitat, they are hardy in New 

 England, and even as far as the Great Lakes. In time of 

 bloom, these masses are the great flower show of the coun- 

 tryside, and in winter nothing is more beautiful than the 

 evergreen foliage of rhododendrons, lifted out of the snow. 



Great Laurel or Rose Bay 



Rhododendron maximum ^ Linn. 



Among the Alleghany Mountains, from Virginia south- 

 ward, the great laurel rises to a height of forty feet, 

 and interlaces its boughs with those of Eraser's magnolia 

 and the mountain hemlock in the dense forest cover. 

 Thickets of rhododendron trees are common, and though 

 its stature is reduced, it follows the highlands into New 

 York, and is one of the most striking and beautiful shrubs 

 in the Pennsylvania mountains. Scattered and becoming 

 more rare and more stunted, it reaches Lake Erie and on 



