238 FOREST TREES. 
It is smaller than the preceding, seldom becoming 
more than six feet high. It is one of the most beau- 
tiful shrubs in cultivation. Many hybrids have been 
produced between this and R. Ponticum, a less hardy 
species from Asia. It is said to be hardy throughout 
the United States, but, like some others of the same 
natural order, it will not grow in soils impregnated 
with lime. Where such exists, it is necessary to pre- 
pare a bed largely composed of swamp muck and rot- 
ten wood for the reception of the plants. 
