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BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREEN SHRUBS. 

 KALMIA LATIFOLIA. mountain laurel. 



Although a native, there is perhaps no other hardy shrub, except the Rhododendi on, 

 that rivals this in beauty; indeed, Mr. J. W. Manning, an authority upon things horticul- 

 tural, styles it: "The most beautiful of all American native plants." Like its first cousin, 

 Rhododendron maximum, it retains its fo'iage in unimpaired beauty throughout the year; 

 although its leaves, which are broad, smooth and glossy, do not droop and are exceptionally 

 free from insect attack or blemish of any kind. As regards hardiness, it may justly be 

 termed "ironclad;" growing in perfection at high altitudes, upon the mountains of Pennsyl- 

 vania and New York where the mercury sometimes falls as low as 35 degrees below zero. 

 The flowers are borne in large, flat clusters, vary in color from pearly white to soft, shell 

 pink and are uniquely and exquisitely formed — totally unlike any other flower — suggesting, 

 both in bud and when expanded, flowers made up of certain delicate, dainty sea shells. 

 The flowers appear in "Strawberry time" — early in June at Monmouth — and continue some 

 weeks. 



Kalmia Latifolia succeeds almost everywhere, except where water lies near or upon 

 the surface. It is beautiful as single specimens, but yields greatest pleasure when properly 

 grouped in conjunction with Rhododendrons, or in mass. When thus planted, owing to its 

 compact habit and abundant clean, glossy foliage of fresh, rich green, it produces an 

 effect delightful and pleasing at all seasons; when in bloom, its wealth of transcendent 



flowers and lovely foliage unite in present- 

 ing a spectacle no brush can paint and 

 words fail utterly to describe. 



It is with pleasure I offer an almost 

 unlimited quantity of the finest plants of 

 Kalmia latifolia that it has ever been my 

 good fortune to see, during an experience 

 of thirty-five years as a nurseryman. They 

 are as dense, compact and finely formed as 

 one can well imagine; if made by human 

 hands or machinery they could scarcely 

 be more perfect in finish. They were grown 

 in the open field and "lift" with perfect 

 balls of earth. Another and very import- 

 ant fact: Kalmias thus grown in full, 

 open sunlight and here in the low lands 

 near the sea coast, do not suffer the check 

 when transplanted to their new homes in 

 ornamental plantings, that is unavoidable 

 to those taken from mountain soil and air 

 and the cool, shady retreats of the forest 



Kalmia latifolia flowers much reduced. 



