no TREES 



into New Brunswick. The leaves crown each of the stiff 

 branches with an umbrella-like whorl, that stands guard 

 in winter time about a large scaly bud. In spring the 

 scales fall and a cone-like flower cluster rises. Each 

 blossom is white, marked with yellow or orange spots, in 

 the bell-like corolla's throat; or the flowers may be pale 

 rose, with deeper tones in the unopened buds. A great 

 tree in blossom, with its flower clusters lighting up the 

 umbrella-like whorls of glossy, evergreen leaves, illumi- 

 nates the woods, and makes every other tree look common- 

 place beside it. 



In late summer, green capsules, each with a curving 

 style at the top, cluster where the flowers stood, but these 

 are scarcely ornamental. The evergreen leaves and the 

 buds, full of promise for June blossoming, are the beautiful 

 features of rhododendrons in winter. 



The wonderful array of color and profusion of bloom, 

 seen in an exhibit of rhododendrons and azaleas, is the 

 most convincing proof of what crossing and careful selec- 

 tion can do in developing races of flowering plants. The 

 ancestry of all these tub-plants is a matter of record, and 

 goes back to a few comparatively insignificant wild species, 

 competing with all the rest of the native flora for a liveli- 

 hood. 



THE MOUNTAIN LAUREL 



The mountain laurel (Kalviia lalifolia, Linn.) grows from 

 Nova Scotia to Lake Erie and southward through New 

 England and New York, and along the Alleghanies to 

 northern Georgia. Hardier than the rhododendrons, 

 smaller in blossoms and in foliage, the laurel is in many 



