258 THE FLORIST AND 



escapes destruction and taking root on the very ruins, seem to 

 soften the misfortune, by opposing to the brute force of nature the 

 reproductive power and the fecundity of life, It is in such situa- 

 tions that Dr. Hooker has been able to gather without much trouble 

 specimens of the plant, naturally little accessible in its most usual 

 station, on the branches of large trees. The fact that it grows 

 equally well on rocks will interest horticulturists, by proving be- 

 forehand the possibility of its culture in circumstances little differ- 

 ent from those in which the terresterial species are placed. Only 

 it must be supposed that this species, like R. Dalhousi®, will require 

 more heat and atmospheric moisture than do the species of the 

 orangery such as arbor eum, campanulatum and others. 



J. E. Pranchon, 

 In the li Flore des Serves" 



HISTORY AND CULTIVATION. 



When LinfKBus first borrowed the Ilose to describe the beauties 

 of this family, he little dreamt of the honor future discoveries 

 would pour out on his selection. Rhododendron, from the Greek 

 Rhodos a rose, and dendron a tree, if any way descriptive of the 

 beauties of the half dozen species known to Linnaeus, must be fully 

 illustrative of the almost numberless varieties that are now known 

 to exist. 



One hundred and twenty years ago, our own R. maximum alone 

 adorned British collections. Twenty years later the R. pcnticum, 

 introduced from Spain, gave a fresh interest to the tribe, and since 

 that time, new forms appear annually in somethinglike geometrical 

 proportion. Over three dozen varieties of the latter are already 

 enumerated ; and up to 1838 nearly the same number of distinct 

 species had been introduced. Since that elate the hazardous and 

 romantic excursions of Dr. Hooker among the Himalayas, and 

 other parts of Asia, have brought to light many secret treasures. 

 Still, unlike some of our modern fruit catalogues, the list never 

 grows wearisome. We can feast on this floral banquet much longer 

 yet, without clanger of satiety. In the first form of R. maximum, 

 we had rare and simple beauty, flowering in the summer months. 



