24 
Cornel Collection on the right-hand side of the Meadow Road and in 
the Peter’s Hill Nursery where the largest specimen in the Arboretum 
can be seen. 
Early American Azaleas. The first flowers of the earliest of these 
plants, R. {Azalea) Vaseyi, have already faded. R. nudiflora and R. 
canescens have been in flower for a week on Azalea Path. Of the lat- 
ter, which is a native of Massachusetts, there is a good mass on the 
right-hand side of the Meadow Road in front of the Lindens which for 
a long distance round has filled the air with delicate perfume. On 
Azalea Path the flower-buds of the Appalachian R. {Azalea) calendu- 
laceum are already open. In flower the most beautiful of Azaleas, no 
other North American shrub equals it in the splendor of its bloom. 
Berberis Vernae. Many of the new Barberries with deciduous leaves 
discovered by Wilson in western China bloom much later in the season, 
but a plant of Berberis Vemae in the collection of Chinese Shrubs on 
the slope of Bussey Hill is now covered with its short clusters of light 
yellow flowers. It is an attractive shrub with gracefully drooping 
branches and small bright green leaves, and promises to be a good ad- 
dition to the large number of hardy Barberries which can be grown 
successfully in this climate. 
Early Diervillas. The first of these plants to bloom, the Korean 
Diervilla Jlorida venusta, is one of the hardiest and when in flower 
perhaps the handsomest of all the species and hybrids of Diervilla, bet- 
ter known as Weigela. The New England winter has no terrors for 
this Korean plant, and it has not before been more thickly covered 
with its handsome rose-colored flowers. It is growing in the Shrub 
Collection and on Hickory Path near Centre Street. Varieties or hybrids 
of Diervilla praecox, a plant of uncertain origin, raised recently in 
France, have flowered well this spring in the Shrub Collection and de- 
serve the attention of the public. The following varieties have been 
conspicuous: Vestale with white flowers, Gracieux with pink and white 
flowers, Conquerant with rose-colored flowers, and Fleur de Mai with 
pink flowers. 
Rosa spinosissima, var. altaica (or grandijiora) has not been hurt by 
the winter and has been full of flowers as usual. This is one of the 
largest and perhaps the handsomest of all the varieties of the so-called 
Scotch Rose. It is a native of southern Siberia and in this climate often 
grows six or seven feet tall and broad. The flowers are faintly tinged 
with yellow and are produced in great numbers. It is one of the hand- 
somest and hardiest of all single-flowered Roses which can be grown 
in northern gardens; and as the plant produces suckers freely, and as 
these are easily transplanted, there is no reason why this Rose should 
not be more common than it is in American gardens. 
