92 Ornamental Shrubs. 



of varieties of this tree, but very few, if any of them, are 

 to be preferred to the original form. 



ABELIA. 



THE abeHas constitute a small genus of very orna- 

 mental shrubs of the order caprifoliacecs, and, 

 though not sufficiently hardy to withstand the 

 winters of the northern parts of the United States, they 

 are especially adapted to garden cultivation throughout 

 the southern half of the Union. They will probably 

 thrive in most locations south of Washington, through 

 the Southwest and California, and with but little or no 

 more care than is afforded many other choice plants that 

 do not surpass them in interest or beauty. All are of 

 easy cultivation and showy in both leaf and flower. The 

 name was given to the genus in honor of Dr. Clark Abel, 

 a noted physician and botanist, who was attached to the 

 British embassy to China in 1817, and who probably first 

 directed the attention of English horticulturists to their 

 merit. But it does not appear that the plants were 

 brought to England until Mr. Robert Fortune entered so 

 largely upon his work of introducing the botanical treas- 

 ures of the flowery kingdom to the European gardens. 



A. rupestris. — This species was brought from China 

 to England by Mr. Fortune in 1844, but, from its real or 

 supposed inability to withstand the climate of that coun- 

 try, was largely treated as a conservatory or greenhouse 

 plant. It has more recently been found equal to the de- 

 mands in some of the southern counties, and where, 

 according to a writer in The Garden, of London, it is 



