SOIL 
S3 
caucasicum, R, maximum, R. arhoreum, and others. They 
all enjoy a sweet, moist soil, a situation where there is some 
shelter, and, if it can be provided, just that amount of 
shade that will break the fierce sunshine of summer. Many 
of them are hardy as gorse so far as temperature is con- 
cerned, but they do not all flower sufficiently late to escape 
frosts in May. Breeders, understanding this, have gene- 
rally aimed at lateness of flowering. The late Mr. Anthony 
Waterer refused to recognise as a good garden Rhododen- 
dron any seedling that was not of strong constitution, large 
and bold in foliage, compact and conical in flower-head, 
not easily injured by wind or rain, and that did not open 
its flowers before June. Such a standard, although excellent, 
would shut out some of the most charming sorts, and we 
cannot afford to give up a plant that produces beautiful 
blooms in May or earlier, even although they may now 
and then be spoiled by frost. 
SOIL 
However much lime may promote soil fertility, it is quite 
certain that soils which contain lime in any appreciable 
quantity are unsuitable for Rhododendrons and Ericaceae 
generally. Peat is the ideal soil for these plants. But the 
term peat, like that of loam, is applied to soils most diverse 
in character. Some peats are so close and acid that no 
plant will grow in them. Such are the peats of bog land ; 
yet even these, if drained, broken up, and exposed to the 
influence of air and frost, become suitable for peat-loving 
plants at any rate. The light, sandy peat that often occurs 
in the heaths and moorlands of this country is the best 
soil for Rhododendrons ; but it is often poor, and re- 
quires the addition of humus in the form of decayed 
