Complimentary 
NEW SERIES VOL. IV 
NO. 6 
ARNOLD ARBORETUM 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
BULLETIN 
OF 
POPULAR INFORMATION 
JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS. MAY 29, 1918 
The early spring. The cold of last December exceeded the cold of 
any' previous December in Massachusetts of which there is a record, 
and now in this month there have been the hottest May days eastern 
Massachusetts has known since a record of temperature has been kept. 
April, too, was warm and dry, and even the early-flowering shrubs 
bloomed earlier than usual. Lilac flowers, which last year did not open 
in time for Decoration Day were fading this year by the 19th of May, 
and Viburnum Lentago, which usually blooms here about the middle 
of June was opening its flowers on the 20th of May and for the last 
ten days has been one of the conspicuous plants in the Arboretum. 
Many plants, especially Crabapples, Pears, Lilacs, Hawthorns, Honey- 
suckles and Viburnums have not before flowered more profusely and 
those which normally bloom a week or two apart have this spring 
flowered simultaneously, with the result that during one or two weeks 
more flowers have been open in the Arboretum than in any other weeks 
in its history. The spring, however, has not been a satisfactory one, 
so many plants have flowered together that visitors have been unable 
to enjoy them all; and flowers forced by excessive heat to open before 
their natural time have been short-lived. Plants crippled by the winter 
have further suffered by the heat and drought of May which have 
seriously interfered with the recovery of some plants. 
Some early-flowering Rhododendrons. During the past week several 
Rhododendrons have been in flower. One of the handsomest of these 
plants, Boule de Neige, shows no effects of a hard winter. The leaves 
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