348 THE CULTIVATED EVERGREENS 



The leather-leaf, ChamcBdaphne calyculata, is a common, 

 aquatic, native shrub. It often grows spontaneously with its 

 roots and stems immersed in water. It does remarkably well, 

 however, in ordinary soil of a peaty or leaf-soil composition. 

 If given good attention it will assume a much better and denser 

 appearance than in native conditions. The white blossoms are 

 not conspicuous. 



Andromeda glaucophylla is a neat, dwarf, low shrub, often 

 growing in sphagnum swamps. When thickly massed together 

 in front of rhododendrons, it makes a very effective low mat. 

 The narrow pale green leaves, with the small clusters of pinkish 

 flowers in June, are very attractive. This shrub will grow in 

 sandy soil containing lime. 



The bear-berry, Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi, is a dense evergreen 

 creeping shrub with small deep green leaves, native throughout 

 the northern hemisphere. It often covers the ground in large 

 areas, and forms a dense evergreen carpet. Near Leroy, New 

 York, the bear-berry grows in dense carpets on Onondago 

 limestone rocks, with only two or three inches of soil, the roots 

 clinging to the disintegrated limestone. Chemical tests indi- 

 cated that the roots were growing in chert, in pockets over the 

 limestone rocks, and that there was sufficient acidity in this 

 for the roots not to be influenced by the near-by lime. It seems 

 extraordinary that a supposed lime-hating plant should select 

 such an environment and be in excellent health. 



The Scotch heather, Calluna vulgaris, may be grown in the 

 North in a number of varieties. The var. alba is very attractive 

 in bloom in July and August. Erica carnea and E. vagans are 

 the best two enduring heaths. The heather and the heaths 

 require soils of a peaty nature. 



The American holly, Ilex opaca, is a most important ever- 

 green shrub or small tree for the northeastern States. It stands 



