HYDEANGEA. 



'AAITLIARITY is said to breed 

 contempt, but that is searcf'ly 

 true. It is, however, certainly 

 true that i'amiliarity breeds 

 indifference, and the subject 

 before us affords an illustra- 

 tion. There is no truly 

 familiar garden tlower more 

 thoroughly appreciated than 

 the hydrangea, and there is 

 not one that is so commoidy 

 mismanaged by amateur cul- 

 tivators. To grow it well 

 is like conjuring — most easy 

 and simijle when you kn(^w 

 how to do it, but a great diffi- 

 culty when ignorance, that is 

 liliss, lies in the way of the 

 Worker. 



The hydrangeas are hardy shrubs, 

 although commonly regarded as proper to the greenhouse. 

 They are, indeed, "proper" to the greenhouse, and the 

 common //. hortensis now before us is a great favourite for 

 the window, thousands of plants being raised by the market 



'Z 



