128 • WOOD AND GARDEN 



The hardy Azaleas are now blazing masses of 

 crimson, almost scarlet leaf; the old A. pontica, with 

 its large foliage, is as bright as any. With them are 

 grouped some of the North American Vacciniums and 

 Andromedas, with leaves almost as bright. The ground 

 between the groups of shrubs is knee-deep in heath. 

 The rusty-coloured withered bloom of the wild heath 

 on its purplish-grey masses and the surrounding banks 

 of dead fern make a groundwork and background of 

 excellent colour-harmony. 



How seldom does one see Quinces planted for 

 ornament, and yet there is hardly any small tree that 

 better deserves such treatment. Some Quinces planted 

 about eight years ago are now perfect pictures, their 

 lissome branches borne down with the load of great, 

 deep-yellow fruit, and their leaves turning to a colour 

 almost as rich and glowing. The old English rather 

 round-fruited kind with the smooth skin is the best 

 both for flavour and beauty — a mature tree without 

 leaves in winter has a remarkably graceful, arching, 

 almost weeping growth. The other kind is of a rather 

 more rigid form, and though its woolly-coated, pear- 

 shaped fruits are larger and strikingly handsome, the 

 whole tree has a coarser look, and just lacks the attrac- 

 tive grace of the other. They will do fairly well 

 almost anywhere, though they prefer a rich, loamy soil 

 and a cool, damp, or even swampy place. The Medlar 

 is another of the small fruiting trees that is more 

 neglected than it should be, as it well deserves a place 



