6 THE EHODODENDEON. 



The test was, nevertheless, a very severe one, as 

 the bed was made by filling in an old gravel pit ; 

 and the location was so hot and dry, that large 

 white pines, growing naturally close by, perished 

 from drought. 



The fact that the Rhododendron thrives on a 

 northern exposure should of itself be a great incen- 

 tive to its cultivation. What country place is there 

 which has not a bare northern slope, some cold 

 exposure where " nothing will grow " ? Yet in 

 such a situation Rhododendrons will thrive ; change 

 it to a gorgeous mass of bloom in June, and give a 

 glorious show of rich evergreen foliage all the rest of 

 the year. Who will say the result is not worth the 

 necessary labor of preparation? And if we wish 

 flowers after the Rhododendrons, plant a few moun- 

 tain-laurel (Kalmia latifotia) for succession, and 

 here and there dot in bulbs of- our noble American 

 lilies (^Lilium superbum and cawcftZewse), with a few 

 clumps of the' purple martagon, all of which bloom 

 magnificently ; and around the edges of the clumps 

 cultivate a host of the more dwarf-growing species 

 of our native plants which love a peat soil, such as 

 cypripediums, trilliums, and others, even to the 

 Christmas rose (^Helleborus niger}, to bloom often 

 to the dawn of New Year's morning. 



We do not appreciate the wealth of our American 

 flora, and have shut our eyes to the riclmess which 

 lies around us. In England, a crowning glory of 

 horticultural exhibitions is the show of " American 

 plants;" and we in America do not know what they 

 are. 



