VARIOUS LILACS FOR THE LAWN. 



BECAUSE the lilac, in some of its species, is 

 among the commonest of lawn shrubs, is no 

 good reason for passing it by when one is 

 making a selection of embellishing material 

 in this line. Rather, it is a reason why we should 

 seek to avail ourselves of the latest improvements 

 afforded b y 

 the family, for 

 it may pretty 

 certainly b e 

 accepted that 

 a shrub pos- 

 sessing the in- 

 trinsic merit 

 of the lilac, 

 and which has 

 been as long 

 under cultiva- 

 t i o n , would 

 show many 

 improvements 

 from its nor- 

 mal types. 



These ideas 

 are suggested 

 by some photo- 

 graphs of two 

 handsome new 

 lilacs taken in 

 the Mount 

 Hope nurser- 

 ies, Rochester, 

 N. Y,, in June 

 last These we 

 have had en- 

 graved, and 

 our artist has 

 done his sub- 

 jects very fair 

 justice. One, 

 shown on page 

 657, is known 

 as Frau Dam- 

 m a n n . Its 

 white flowers 



are borne in immense panicles of graceful, picturesque 

 form. The other, shown on this page, is Ludwig Spath, 

 and this differs considerably from the first, in that a 

 chief mark of the flowers and general habit is its com- 

 paratively large size. But this is in no wise at the ex- 

 pense of beauty ; for nothing can exceed the fine appear- 

 ance of its bloom, as it contrasts so charmingly with the 



Lilac Ludwig Spath. 



large, rich foliage. The production of these new vari- 

 eties was well worth while. 



A fine variety, long in cultivation, is the Rothomagen- 

 sis. This, by many, is conceded to be the finest lilac in 

 cultivation. It is a cross between the common species, 

 Syiinga vulgaris, and the Persian lilac (S. Persica), most 



closely resem- 

 bling the lat- 

 ter, but excell- 

 ing it in robust- 

 ness. Its pani- 

 cles sometimes 

 grow from ten 

 to sixteen 

 inches long and 

 bend the 

 branches to the 

 ground with 

 their abund- 

 ance. 



Josika's lilac 

 ( S. Josikaa ) 

 also called the 

 chionanthus- 

 leaved, is o n e 

 of the hand- 

 somest of the 

 species. The 

 leaves are very 

 large, of wavy 

 surface, and 

 wax-like in tex- 

 ture. It is an 

 upright grow- 

 er, a fact which 

 suits it well for 

 training to tree 

 form if one 

 fancies having 

 a lilac in that 

 shape. One of 

 i t s excellent 

 qualities is that 

 it holds its fol- 

 iage o f good 

 color quite late 



in the autumn. It is also later in its period of bloom 

 than any other sort, thus extending the season of these 

 delightful flowers by some weeks. Its color is a deep 

 purple. 



Another large-leaved lilac is Emodi, which was brought 

 from the Himalayas. A peculiarity of this one is that the 

 leaves are very much pointed. Flowers very dark purple. 



