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cidedly a handsomer flowering plant. The long-pointed leaves are 
interesting and of a good color, but the fruit is small, dull in color 
and inconspicuous. These Viburnums are all flowering in the Viburnum 
Collection where many of the Asiatic species are also now in flower. 
Early Summer Lilacs. The so-called Persian Lilac {Syringa persica) 
is now in flower. This is a native of Afghanistan and is said to have 
been cultivated in Persia and India from time immemorial and to have 
reached eastern Europe nearly three centuries ago. It is a broad, 
rather low shrub with long-pointed leaves and small fragrant flowers 
in few-flowered clusters which are crowded at the ends of the slender 
drooping branches and appear like one long narrow inflorescence. The 
flowers are pale lilac color. There is a white-flowered form (var. alba) 
and one with deeply Icbed leaves (var. laciniosa). The Persian Lilacs 
are graceful and delightful plants, and although they w^ere early 
brought to the United States they are now too rarely found in Amer- 
ican gardens. Crossed with the common Lilac {S. vulgaris) the Persian 
Lilac produced in the Botanic Garden at Rouen a hybrid with broader 
leaves and immense clusters of reddish flowers intermediate in size be- 
tween those of its parents. This hybrid is one of the most vigorous, 
largest and most useful of all Lilacs. Unfortunately it has been called 
Syringa chinensis; it is also known as S. rothoinagensis and as the Rouen 
Lilac. There is a variety (var. alba) with pale pink, not very attractive 
flowers, and there are forms with flowers deeper red than those of 
the type, and with double flowers. 
Syringa villosa is a large, very vigorous and hardy shrub from north- 
ern China which is now just beginning to open its flower-buds. The 
flowers are pale rose-color or rarely nearly white, and are produced in 
immense quantities in short broad clusters. In spite of the disagree- 
able odor of the flowers this is a valuable plant as it is one of the last 
of the true Lilacs to flower and greatly prolongs the season of Lilac 
flowers. Crossed with the Hungarian S. Josikaea, which is also now 
in flower, S. villosa has produced in Paris a hybrid race to which the 
name of S. Henryi has been given. One of these hybrids known as 
Lutece is now in flower and is one of the handsomest of garden Lilacs. 
It is a large and vigorous shrub with large dark green leaves and 
great clusters of blue-purple flowers. Some of the new Chinese species 
will flower a little later and these will be followed by the tree Lilacs 
of northeastern Asia. 
Robinia Kelseyi. This Rose Acacia, which was discovered only a 
few years ago on the slopes of the southern Appalachian Mountains, 
proves a hardy and valuable garden plant. The flowers are smaller 
and lighter-colored than those of the well known Rose Acacia {R. his- 
pida) which flowers a little later, and the branches are not covered 
with the viscid hairs to which the Rose Acacia owes its name. R. 
Kelseyi is a shrub sometimes growing from six to eleven feet high, 
with slender stems and branches, leaves composed of nine or eleven 
narrow lanceolate leaflets which are bronze color as they unfold, 
and short racemes appearing with the unfolding leaves and composed 
of from four to seven flowers produced from the axils of the leaves 
of short lateral young branchlets which grow from end to end of the 
branches of the previous year. Sometimes as many as four flower- 
