15 
always flowered as well as it has this spring it would be one of the 
most valuable of the whole group for it blooms early, and the pale 
lilac-colored flowers in short compact clusters are very fragrant. The 
large broad leaves which are thick and leathery and are not disfigured 
by mildew turn in the autumn to handsome shades of orange and red. 
One of the first hybrid Lilacs was obtained by crossing this Chinese 
species with the common Lilac (S. vulgaris). The plant obtained by 
this cross is called S. hyacinthiflora. It is a large, compact, round- 
topped shr lb with leaves resembling in shape those of its Chinese par- 
ent and with small clusters of extremely fragrant, pale lilac-colored 
double flowers. As a garden plant this Lilac is more interesting than 
beautiful. Syringa pubescens is covered with clusters of opening 
flower-buds. Attention cannot be too often called to this native of 
northern China. It is a tall shrub with erect stems, small leaves and 
short broad clusters of pale lilac-colored flowers remarkable for the 
long tube of the corolla and for their pungent and delightful fragrance. 
For this fragrance, if for no other reason, this Lilac should be found 
in every northern garden; indeed some persons consider it the most 
valuable of all Lilacs. Although S. pubescens was first raised at the 
Arboretum thirty-six years ago, it is still rare in this country, for it 
never produces seeds here and is not as easily propagated by cuttings 
as other Lilacs. It is in bloom nearly four weeks earlier than it was 
last year. Indeed all the Lilacs are early this year, and by the time 
this Bulletin reaches its Boston readers many of the varieties of the 
common Lilac will be in full bloom. 
Early-flowering Hawthorns. The earliest Hawthorn this year to 
bloom was Crataegus nigra from western Europe. This is a handsome 
tree with pale bark and deeply lobed leaves. The flowers have twenty 
stamens with anthers faintly tinged with pink and are arranged in 
compact clusters; they are followed by handsome black shining fruits 
which give greater value to this tree than the flowers which are less 
beautiful than those of many American Hawthorns. There is a large 
plant of Crataegus nigra in the old Hawthorn Collection at the end of 
the Willow Collection. Several American Hawthorns of the Mollis 
Group, distinguished by their large flowers, large leaves and large 
scarlet fruit, have been in bloom during the past week. The most 
conspicuous have been C. Arnoldiana^ C. mollis, C. arkansana and C. 
submollis. These trees have never flowered more profusely. C. Ar- 
noldiana, which was first found growing wild in the Arboretum, has 
been especially handsome. The fruit of this tree begins to ripen late 
in August or early in September and this makes C. Arnoldiana valuable 
also for the decoration of the summer garden. The largest plants of 
this tree in the Arboretum are on the left-hand side of the road near 
the Centre Street entrance. There are a number of good trees in the 
old Crataegus Collection and on the Valley Road in front of the White 
Oaks. Large plants of the other early-flowering Mollis species can be 
seen at the South Street entrance. In the Crataegus Collection on the 
eastern slope of Peter’s Hill many plants are already in bloom and for 
the next six weeks it will be possible to see in the Arboretum Hawthorn 
flowers of many native and foreign species. 
