[Plate 13.] 



HARDY AZALEAS, SEEDLING VARIETIES. 



No. 1. Judith; 2, Meteor; 3, Silvio. 



Deciduous Shrubs of Garden origin. 



THESE beautiful additions to our out-door spring flowering shrubs are the result of Mr. 

 Anthony Waterer's perseverance in cross-breeding. Having accomplished so much in 

 the same direction with Rhododendrons, he has turned his attention to hardy Azaleas, with 

 what results the accompanying plate, from Mr. Macfarlane's truthful drawing, gives ample 

 evidence. In breadth of petals and substance of the flowers they are an immense stride 

 in advance of the old Ghent varieties, and in delicacy of colour they are not surpassed by 

 any of the greenhouse varieties, of which there are now such a host of Indian and Chinese 

 descent. They are the outcome of many years' work in crossing and re-crossing the best 

 formed and most promising, chosen from amongst thousands that Mr. Waterer has raised. 



No. 1, Judith, is a beautiful variety; white, suffused with pink, and deep orange on 

 top petal. 



No. 2, Meteor. A grand flower, of large size and substance, the petals almost as 

 broad as those of the tender greenhouse sorts ; red, with pale-orange blotch on top petal. 



No. 3, Silvio. Quite equal to the others in both size and substance ; amber, flaked 

 and suffused with reddish-pink, top petal dark yellow. 



One advantage these Knap Hill seedlings possess over the ordinary Ghent kinds is that 

 they make a considerable amount of leaf-growth before the flowers open, which adds much 

 to their effective appearance. Of still more importance is their blooming somewhat later 

 than the Ghent varieties, and in consequence of this being more likely to escape the spring 

 frosts that frequently make such havoc in plants which bloom early, through which cause 

 the Japanese Azalea mollis varieties are so liable to have their flowers cut off. 



The natural free disposition to flower which they have is also much in their favour, and 

 renders them equally desirable plants for small as well as large gardens. Taking the whole 

 family of Azaleas collectively, as introduced to Europe from different parts of the world, 

 including the Chinese, American, and Indian species, there is scarcely a genus of plants we 

 could point to that has yielded so readily to the manipulation of the hybridist, or that has 



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