- THE BOOK OF SHRUBS 
much to extend the knowledge of the many beautiful 
forms, and thereby promote the development of a taste 
for them, and assist in a material extension of their culti- 
vation. From the following pages it will be readily 
gathered that there is an immense variety of forms at 
command, a variety so large as to more than suffice for 
affording a succession of delights to those who make a 
proper distinction in the selection of their shrubs and 
trees between the shrubbery border and the hedgerow 
and the dressed grounds and the rustic woodland. It 
will be seen that there are shrubs and trees of moderate 
and miniature growth; forms that flower in spring, fruit 
in summer, and that assume the most brilliant hues when 
autumn passes her hand amongst the leaves; forms 
that enrich the artistically planted garden with their deep 
tones of colour, and forms with variegated leaves that 
light it up with their golden and grey and silvery hues, 
and forms with leafage like lace in their lightness, and 
that there are forms with foliage of the most massive 
character. 
The wealth of material that was at the command of 
planters a quarter of a century ago, and, unfortunately, 
so indifferently utilised, has been greatly increased of 
late years by the enterprise of British nurserymen and 
the well-directed efforts of hybridists. During the past 
twenty-five years a considerable number of distinct and 
beautiful trees and shrubs have been received from 
Japan, North America, and other parts of the world; 
and within the same period the shrubs remarkable for 
the beauty of their flowers have been greatly increased 
by the efforts of the hybridists. The lilacs, the phila- 
delphus, and the dentzias have been enormously im- 
proved, while hardy azaleas and rhododendrons have had 
so many important additions made to them as to have 
had their usefulness increased to a very appreciable 
extent. 
