82 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
the Mimosas, which, sad to say, I have grown but have failed to bloom 
so far. The Azara blooms rather resemble the Mimosa in shape and 
in the manner in which they are attached to the branches, only they 
are of a full orange instead of a pale yellow ; it is, indeed, a noble 
shrub, and so very superior to A. microphylla, which is better known. 
Drimys aromatica is most charming with its crimson flower-stalks, 
and quite unlike any other flowering shrub I know, except that it 
bears a slight resemblance to its cousin, D. Winteri, which flowers 
here in July. Curiously, the homes of these near connexions are 
very far apart — viz. Tasmania and Chile ! The others of the above- 
named hail from China, Japan, and California ; and they all seem 
equally to approve of our West Coast climate and thrive to perfection. 
Among May herbaceous plants for naturalizing in grass or in 
semi-wild places, let me commend the Trilliums and the white Fritil- 
larias ; neither of these increases or spreads itself quite to the extent, 
for instance, of some of the Narcissi, the various Wood Anemones, or 
the Snowdrops, but they do very well indeed here, and come up 
year after year and deserve every encouragement ; and so do the 
giant white campanulate Scillas, and, in fact, all the tall Squills, 
whether blue, pink, or white, which come up so well under trees. 
Since jotting down these notes ten days have passed, and we are 
getting towards the end of the month. A whole fresh lot of Rhododen- 
drons have expanded, and I hardly know which to extol the most ! 
Perhaps ' Loder's White ' would have been given first prize by some 
judges, had it been possible to have the whole lot exhibited at a 
flower show ; the bush was so perfect, and it almost gave one the 
idea of something which was not quite of this world, so ethereal was 
its loveliness. But others of this more modern type come very near 
it in excellence, such as ' Pink Pearl,' Gauntletii, ' George Hardy/ and 
Manglesii, &c, and I have an idea that they all have Aucklandi blood 
in them. 
I have not yet succeeded in getting very good trusses of bloom 
off my Aucklandii, such as are produced in Cornwall, though some of 
the individual flowers were perfect, and I had only just enough of 
them this year to make me long for more, which will, no doubt, come 
in time, and all that is wanted is just a little patience. It certainly 
is the queen of the Rhododendron species. 
I can thoroughly recommend the Southern United States Azalea, 
Rhododendron Vaseyi, it is so hardy, and, being deciduous, does not 
mind what the winter tempests or spring frosts are like, which is 
different from some of the evergreen Rhododendrons, with their 
long strap-like leaves, which get torn by the gales, so that they 
require very sheltered situations. R. Vaseyi varies in tint from 
white to pink. 
Still more beautiful is one of the newer Rhododendrons from 
China — viz. R. yunnanense. My former description of R. rubiginosum 
might, in a way, apply also to it, in that its bloom reminds me a little 
of some very dainty fancy Pelargonium. It is a gem of the first water ! 
