276 Ornamental Shrubs. 



occasionally seen in New York and even in southern 

 New England, but in such locations it demands and must 

 receive thorough protection. Thomas Meehan writes that 

 in Philadelphia it gets partly winter-killed, but that this 

 does not hurt it in the slightest. On the contrary, the 

 shoots seem to start more vigorously from the base, and 

 to give finer flowers than they otherwise would. Where 

 it does not winter-kill it would be well to cut the plant to 

 near the ground, as is done with the hydrangea. The 

 vitex is popularly known as the chaste tree, though also 

 bearing such names as hemp tree and pepper tree, the latter 

 perhaps in recognition of the fact that its foliage gives off 

 a peculiar, aromatic fragrance by no means objectionable. 

 It is a small, neat-appearing shrub, from three to six feet in 

 height, and with long, narrow-pointed leaves, and panicles 

 of bright lilac flowers shooting up above the foliage. 

 They are especially welcome, as they appear in August 

 and September when flowering shrubs are not common. 

 There is a variety of vitex having white blossoms, and 

 another with deep blue ; and a species recently intro- 

 duced from China is said to be more hardy, but this is not 

 yet sufficiently tested to disclose its full merits. 



CORNUS— Cornel— Dogwood. 



THE cornus family, of the order Cornacece, includes 

 trees, shrubs, and a few perennial herbs widely 

 distributed through Europe, Asia, and America. 

 The Latin name comes from cornit, the horn, and was 

 applied because of the hardness and strength of the wood, 

 and its real or supposed durability under exposures. The 



