42 
petal-like scales opposite the petals and connected with the clusters of 
stamens, while in the flowers of all the Old World Lindens such scales 
do not exist. Another fact about Lindens which is not easy to explain 
is that the European species grow much better in Massachusetts than 
the species of eastern Asia, although as a rule European trees do 
not succeed here as well as the trees of eastern Asia. The flve Euro- 
pean Lindens and the species from the Caucasus all flourish in the 
Arboretum and some of these trees have grown in New England to a 
large size. The Asiatic species, however, although they have not been 
many years in this country, give little promise of becoming really 
good trees here. Tilia japonica, which has been growing in the Ar- 
boretum for twenty-five years, although still a small tree, is, however, 
perfectly healthy; it is related to the small-leaved Linden of Europe 
(T. cordata) and, like that tree, is one of the latest Lindens to flower 
here. The graceful drooping branches and pale under surface of the 
leaves make this small tree attractive, and it is the first of the Lin- 
dens here to unfold its leaves in the spring. The common Linden of 
the north {T. glabra or americana) as was recently explained in one 
of these Bulletins, is not as good a tree here as several of the Euro- 
pean species', but there are several other American Lindens which have 
been overlooked by American planters, and misunderstood or neglected 
by American botanists, and among them are handsome trees. Some 
of these are growing in the Arboretum, and it is not improbable that 
the Arboretum collection will be improved at the end of a few years 
when it is hoped the American Lindens will be better known. 
Lindens have always been more valued as ornamental and shade 
trees in Europe than in the United States. No other trees have been 
more generally planted in some of the countries of central Europe, and 
in these countries attention has been paid to the collection and perpet- 
uation of several interesting and valuable varieties and hybrids. The 
Arboretum collection, which is arranged in the meadow on the right- 
hand side of the Meadow Road, now contains forty-five species, varie- 
ties and hybrids. Many of these trees have flowered for several years, 
and some of them are large enough to show the habit of the different 
species when thirty or forty years old. Judging by the Arboretum 
collection, the handsomest of these trees which can be grown in this 
part of the country are the European T. vulgaris, T. cordata, T. to- 
mentosa, and T. petiolaris and the American T. heterophylla, T. 
Michauxii and T. neglecta, and the hybrid T. spectabilis. This tree is 
believed to be a hybrid of T. americana with T. petiolaris or T. tomen- 
tosa. It has leaves as large as those of the American tree but silvery 
white on the lower surface. The variety Moltkei has rather thicker 
but equally large leaves. These trees are among the handsomest of all 
Lindens, and no Lindens in the Arboretum collection grow more rap- 
idly. 
Some good shrubs. A correspondent asks the Bulletin to name the 
twelve best shrubs of recent introduction. The task is not an easy 
one for two persons rarely agree in their opinion of the merits of any 
plant for any particular purpose. The best shrubs in the sense which 
our correspondent means are those which will be hardy over a large 
