252 TREES AND SHRUBS 



we have for this purpose, quite as valuable for hard 

 forcing as for flowering later in spring. Although 

 the formation of the roots is dense and wig-like, 

 they are, as already stated, all the better for being 

 potted early, while they may be permanently grown 

 in pots in a satisfactory way. The Chinese A. 

 sinemsis, or mollis, as it is more popularly called, is 

 of close and compact growth, with massive clusters 

 of large flowers, varying in colour from pale yellow 

 to deep orange salmon, and innumerable tints and 

 shades. Among the most beautiful are Alphonse 

 LavalI6, bright orange ; Anthony Koster, deep yellow ; 

 Dr. Pasteur, orange red ; General Vetten, orange ; 

 Hugo Koster, salmon red ; and J. J. de Vink, soft 

 rose. The varieties grouped under the head of 

 Ghent Azaleas are very beautiful, and quite as suitable 

 for forcing as the preceding. The individual flowers 

 are smaller, but they are borne in such profusion 

 that the whole plant is a mound of blossom. The 

 colour varies from white, through all shades of yellow, 

 orange, pink, rose, and scarlet, to bright crimson, 

 so that plenty of variety is available, and some forms 

 have double flowers. These are not so showy as 

 the single Azaleas. Azaleas, when planted out, re- 

 quire a certain amount of peat or other vegetable 

 matter in the soil, and this is even more important 

 when they are grown in pots. A suitable compost 

 consists of equal parts of loam, leaf-mould, and peat, 

 with half a part of sand. Very little pruning is 

 needful, and this to only consist of shortening an 

 occasional shoot that threatens to upset the balance 



