CULTIVATED SPIR^^AS 



CULTIVATED SPIRi^AS 



Apart from the native species which appear now 

 and then in cultivation, there is a larg-e number of dis- 

 tinctively garden Si)ira;as of great lianHness and of 

 surpassing beauty. Time woidd fail to tell the tale of 

 their loveliness; nor could space be allotted to make 

 even a complete list of their numbers. There are, 

 however, a few that stand out preeminent, and al- 

 though their number may be enlarged by future 

 hybrids and seedlings, it is scarcely conceivable that 

 these should be supplanted. Grace, delicacv, per- 

 sonal charm and exquisite beauty may perhaps be per- 

 mitted to hold their own against mere bigness — at 

 least in the vegetable world. 



We mention first, because it blossoms first, that spe- 

 cies of rare and delicate beauty known as Spinca tJiiiu- 

 hcrgii. The books report it as a dwarf, but when well 

 placed and well fed it rises in compact and graceful 

 form to the height of five feet. Of the entire grou[) it 

 is the first to bloom, coming out with h\^rsytJiia and 

 Magnolia stcllata. The leaves are one to two inches 

 long, a quarter of an inch wide, and of a peculiar, 

 pale, yellow green. It holds this airv foliage bright 

 and clean throughout the summer; and when autumn 

 comes, after man}- of its companions stand bare and 

 leafless, it clothes itself first in purple bronze and then 

 in orange and scarlet, and stands a figui'c of be:iu1\- 

 until overwhelmed bv the autumn storms. In its Jap- 

 anese home it loves the rockv hillsides and high 

 mountain valleys, and is widely distributed through- 

 out the islands. 



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