Trees, Shrubs and Vines 
as its kindred, but it is often cultivated for its novel 
winter-coloring. 
The dogwoods as a rule have white blossoms; but the 
foreign Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) is decked in 
early spring with showy yellow flowers ; two varieties of 
the same have white or yellow markings in the foliage ; 
such effects are thought desirable by some, but to my 
own taste it is more of an oddity than an ornament; 
certainly at a distance the effect is decidedly that of 
withered leaves, rather than of a rich mingling of colors ; 
a criticism that is not so valid in the case of house or 
garden plants. 
In the chill days of November it is almost pathetic to 
see the witch-hazel’s leafless branches thickly covered 
with small bright yellow blossoms, as if in the despairing 
attempt to revive the glories of a summer that is gone. 
This is the latest flowering plant we have, and is an ob- 
ject of botanical interest ; but neither foliage nor flower 
warrants its introduction to cultivated grounds, except 
on the score of mere variety. Its autumn coloring is 
sometimes effective, and its oblique leaf has a peculiar 
contour that is worth noting; but it is a rather coarse- 
natured individual, with just enough delicacy to appear 
embarrassed amid cultivated surroundings. It is grow- 
ing in two or three places in the ‘‘ Ramble.”’ 
Little need be said of the familiar and universally 
popular syringa (so called), whose exquisite fragrance, 
purity of color, and profusion of flowers, with shapely 
foliage, give it rank among the most desirable shrubs. 
There is an unfortunate confusion in the names of two 
of our favorite plants—lilac and syringa; the botanical 
146 
