530 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
BOOK REVIEWS. 
" Rhododendrons : in which is set forth an Account of all Species 
of the Genus Rhododendron (including Azaleas) and the various 
Hybrids." By J. G. Millais. La. 4to. xi-f268pp. Plates. (Long- 
mans, Green, London, 1917.) £8 8s. net. 
This is a large book ; but not too large. Its pages measure 15! 
inches in height by 12 inches in width, but the plates require all of this 
if justice is to be done to the noble proportions of the flowers they are 
to depict. It is a heavy book, for it weighs 10J lb. ; but this is no 
detriment, for the library table must needs be called into requisition 
when it is being used. It is conceived in an ample spirit ; but not too 
ample when one remembers the tremendous range of forms which it 
must survey. It is a costly book ; but not too costly if worthy plates 
are to be included, and paper and type, extent and style are to be 
given, as they are, fitting to the great genus it deals with. Its subject 
is a great one ; the number, of species in the genus is enormous, and 
known forms are continually being added to as Chinese exploration 
extends ; they are great in beauty for the most part, from the heath- 
covering forms of the Tibetan uplands to the giants of the Sikkim 
Himalaya, and the Azaleas of the North American flora ; and their 
value in the English garden is great too, for some are hardy all over the 
British Isles, others at home in the temperate house, and others in 
warmer quarters, while the mild south-west gives hosts congenial 
homes. It only just misses to be a great book, and this because it 
betrays here and there just a trace of haste. 
It is somewhat strange that there are so few popular books on 
Rhododendrons, next to the Rose probably the most generally useful 
genus of garden shrubs. The reason, perhaps, is that most of them 
require ample quarters to display their beauty. At the same time it is 
probable that if such popular literature were available, the cultivation 
of many of those forms known at present only in the gardens of the few 
would become more wide-spread. The range of season covered by one 
or other — Rhododendron arboreum in November to R. maximum in 
July, the range of colour from yellow and white to the nearly 
blue of R. intricatum, and the range of size from the pigmies through 
those of medium size to the giants of the race towering many times the 
height of a man, and their varying degrees of hardiness combine to 
furnish subjects for all situations where lime is not. The difficulties 
which surround the cultivation of some make them beloved of the 
amateur, while the rich reward in beauty that so often follows efforts 
to obtain new forms gives them value in the eyes of the hybridist. Who 
will not bless Mr. Mangles' memory when he sees Rhododendron 
