THE AZALEA. 
157 
1734 as tlie earliest period on record of the existence of the foreign species in 
England. We find that " Four principal forms exist, to one or other of which, all 
the species are referrible." They are arranged under four sections. 
" Section I. Flowers covered with numerous glutinous hairs. Stamens little, 
or not at all, longer than the tube of the corolla." — This section comprises 1. Azalea 
viscosa. 2. A. glauca^ called in the nurseries viscosaflorihunda. Both are found in 
swamps, copses, and w^et and shady woods of America. 
"Section II. Flowers covered with numerous glutinous hairs. Stamens much 
longer than the corolla. — It comprises 3. A. nitida, found in deep mossy swamps on 
the mountains of New York. 4. A. hispida^ native of the borders of lakes, and of 
the Blue Ridge, Pennsylvania : known here as A.glauca. 5. A. pontica^ common in 
the Crimea, Caucasus, and the east of Poland." This is the fine yellow Azalea 
of the gardens, and was introduced about the year 1793. 
"Section III. Flowers with scarcely any glutinous hairs. Stamens much 
longer than the corolla." — It contains 6. A. peridymena^ or midiflora^ and is the 
origin of the numerous varieties of " American upright honeysuckle," many of 
which, including the old scarlet, have long been cultivated in our gardens. 
7. A. canescens, from the barren sandy hills of the southern parts of the United 
States. It grows wild also on the banks of rivers in South Carolina, and on the 
mountains of Virginia. 8. A. calendulacea^ orange-scarlet, found in moist places in 
the southern states of North America. 9. A. arborescens, native of Philadelphia, 
on rivulets of the Blue Hidge ; little if at all known. 
The foregoing sections comprise the hardy deciduous Azaleas of the gardens. 
Of their general culture, the writer says, " they succeed perfectly if planted in peat 
earth" (heath-soil) " mixed with about one-third, or even one-half loam. They are 
natives of swampy situations, where they spring up among the bushes, and are, 
when young, completely protected from the scorching sun." Even in our damp 
climate they must be screened from the sun. " Their roots run along, just below 
the surface of the soil, and never force their way downwards more than a few 
inches. They are of a delicate fibrous texture, and are easily injured. For this 
reason, the best gardeners never allow the soil to be either hoed or raked ; it is 
only hand- weeded, and allowed to become mossy. Every year or two the beds 
receive a top-dressing of peat and loam, into which the young roots immediately 
strike." 
To these remarks we have only to add, that the hardy Azaleas ought ever to be 
kept apart from the common shrubs and herbaceous tribes of the garden. They 
thrive well if treated as a distinct tribe, a fact we witnessed when inspecting the 
fine bed at Claremont in Surrey : but if once subjected to common garden tillage, 
a plant will be merely kept alive with great difficulty. 
Handsome specimens exist in the heath borders of White Knights, Berks ; but, 
perhaps, the very finest plants that England ever saw in groups and masses were 
destroyed when the noble Tilney property at Wanstead, Essex, was broken up. 
