232 CULTURE OF HARDY DECIDUOUS AND EVERGREEN PLANTS. 
R. arboreum venustum. This little beautiful variety grows about eight 
inches high. It is a hybrid raised by Mr. Smith from seeds of R. Caucasicum, fer- 
tilised by arboreum. We are only acquainted with it by the figure given in British 
Flower Garden, t. 285. 
R. Lapponicum is a beautiful low spreading shrub, scarcely exceeding six inches 
in height ; it has been long known and deservedly cultivated in the gardens, being 
a great ornament in front of the American border, flowering with the greatest 
freedom. 
Propagation of Rhododendrons by Layers.— When the plants are in full 
growth, merely peg down the young shoots, without any incision, and cover them 
with about two inches of soil, and by the following spring they will be ready to 
separate. 
Cuttings of half ripened wood planted under a hand-glass in September, on a 
north border, in peat earth, will often strike, and make good plants, but layers are 
preferable. 
Separating the plant at the roots. — This is merely tearing off or separating 
with a sharp knife, those branches with roots attached to them, which is the case 
when many branching stems spring from the same root. 
By seed. — Sow the seed on a bed of peat soil (heath mould) if there is a consi- 
derable quantity, but if only a small portion, sow in a pan or box, because of the 
ease with which the latter can be protected by placing it in a frame. If sown on a 
bed, shelter the plants while young from heavy rains, &c, by mats or hoops. 
Transplant, when large enough, into other beds, or into pots, and continue to shift 
them every two years, till they are large enough to plant into their permanent 
situations. 
RIBES. 
" It is well known that of Ribes, the genus to which the gooseberry and currant 
belong, many species, indigenous to both northern and southern America, do, in their 
native soil, produce excellent fruit, while the same species, when transported to an 
English climate, seldom bear any, or, when they do, the flavour is either almost 
insipid, or in no small degree astringent. A few exceptions, however, occur. 
" Among the numerous species introduced within these few years, and chiefly 
natives of America, few possess greater claims on our attention as ornamental 
shrubs, than the R. sanguineum * . This plant in its natural state produces 
abundance of fruit, but of so musky and unpleasant a flavour, that the berries 
continue to hang on the bushes throughout the winter, even the birds refus- 
ing to make them a part of their food. It can hardly be expected to improve 
materially by culture ; certainly never to such a degree as may entitle it to the 
rank of an edible fruit; but it possesses considerable recommendations of another 
kind. Whether we consider the delicate tints of its blossoms, which appear in 
March and April, the elegance of its foliage, the facility with which it is increased 
and cultivated, or its capability of enduring the severest of our winters without 
the least protection, it may be regarded as one of the finest and most interesting 
additions that have been made to our shrubberies for many years t." 
* Figured at page 3, vol. i. of this work. 
Horticultural Transactions, vol. vii. p. 
