MARCH 35 



meter, and then again by masses of flowering shrubs, 

 gradating by means of Sweetbriar, Water-elder, Dog- 

 wood, Medlar, and Thorn from garden to wild wood. 



Now that the Rhododendrons, planted nine years 

 ago, have grown to a state and size of young maturity, 

 it is interesting to observe how much they vary in 

 foliage, and how clearly the leaves shoAv the relative 

 degree of relationship to their original parents, the 

 wild mountain plants of Asia Minor and the United 

 States. These, being two of the hardiest kinds, were 

 the ones first chosen by hybridisers, and to these Icinds 

 we owe nearly all of the large numbers of beautiful 

 garden Rhododendrons now in cultivation. The ones 

 more nearly related to the wild R ponticum have long, 

 narrow, shining dark-green leaves, while the varieties 

 that incline more to the American R. catawMense have 

 the leaves twice as broad, and almost rounded at the 

 shoulder where they join the stalk ; moreover, the 

 surface of the leaf has a different texture, less polished, 

 and showing a grain like morocco leather. The colour 

 also is a lighter and more yellowish green, and the 

 bush is not so densely branched. The leaves of all 

 the kinds are inclined to hang down in cold weather, 

 and this habit is more clearly marked in the cataw- 

 liense varieties. 



There is one old kind called muUum-mamlatum — 

 I dare say one of the earliest hybrids — for which I 

 have a special liking. It is now despised by florists, 

 because the flower is thin in texture and the petal 



