Few Old World Roses make much show of autumn color but just now 
there is hardly a more beautiful plant in the Arboretum than the common 
Rose of the coast region of the northeastern United States, Rosa virgin- 
iana, or lucida as it is sometimes called, which just now makes a brave 
show with its leaves of orange and bright red. 
Among the shrubs in the Arboretum which should be carefully studied 
at this time on account of the beauty of their autumn foliage are a few 
which deserve special attention. Of these Evonymus alatus from Japan 
is especially interesting for its leaves are now of a light rose color which 
is not found in those of any other plant in the collection. This is a broad 
flat-topped shrub of open habit, peculiar in the broad wings which are 
developed on its branches and to which it owes its name. As a flowering 
plant it has little to recommend it and the fruit is less conspicuous than 
that of most of the other Burning Bushes, as Evonymus is often called, 
but the color of the autumn foliage entitles it to a place in any garden. 
A large specimen of this plant can be seen in the Evonymus Group on 
the right-hand side of the Meadow Road. In this group are several other 
plants which are attractive at this time. The most conspicuous now, 
perhaps, is Evonymus Bungeanus, a small tree from northern China, 
covered with small light pink fruit which is set off by the pale yellow 
leaves. Evonymus yeddoensis and Evonymus Hamiltonianus, two Jap- 
anese shrubs or small trees, are now conspicuous also for their colored 
leaves and brilliant fruits. 
Brilliant now are the scarlet fruits of the aromatic Sumac, Rhus aro- 
matica, which has been planted freely in great masses along the drives. 
Beautiful, too, along many of the drives are plants of Aronia nigra, one 
of the Chokeberries of the eastern United States with its clusters of large 
drooping black fruits and dark red foliage. Of the native shrubs, how- 
ever, none now are as brilliant as the High-bush Blueberry, Vaccinium 
corymbosum, which is conspicuous in the brilliant scarlet of its leaves in 
many parts of the Arboretum. This is one of the most ornamental 
shrubs of eastern North America. It grows into a large bush sometimes 
eight or ten feet high; the habit is good; the flowers are attractive and 
produced in profusion; and the fruit, which surpasses that of the other 
Blueberries and Huckleberries in size and quality, is bright blue, and in 
the autumn no other shrub is more beautiful. This is a plant to cultivate 
generally for its fruit and as an ornament of the garden. Like other 
plants of the Heath Family, it is not easy to raise from seed but small 
plants from the swamps can be readily established in ordinary garden 
soil. 
Flowers are scarce in the Arboretum the middle of October. A few 
belated flowers may still be found on the clumps of Heather, Calluna 
vulgaris, in the Shrub Collection and among the Rhododendrons at the 
base of Hemlock Hill. This evergreen plant, a native of northern Eu- 
rope, is too little known in American gardens, although it is perfectly 
hardy in New England. It has become completely naturalized at 
Townsend, Massachusetts, near the New Hampshire line, where grown 
from seed scattered some forty years ago, it has spread over an area of 
nearly forty acres, and it is well established, too, in larger masses, near 
