3 
leaves and purple cones; it must not be confused with another Japan- 
ese Fir-tree which botanists consider a variety of it and now call A. 
homolepis var. umbellata. This is a faster growing tree of open habit, 
with light green leaves and gray cones. It is less hardy than the typ- 
ical form, and leaves on most of the specimens in the Arboretum have 
been browned during the past winter as they were two years ago. 
Except in general collections and as a curiosity this variety of Abies 
homolepis is not worth planting in this part of the world. 
A late spring. By the first of April the frost was out of the ground 
here and there was every prospect of an early spring, but April has 
been a cold and rainy month with little sunshine and most spring flow- 
ers are opening nearly two weeks later than in normal seasons. They 
have so far, however, escaped the late frosts which too often in this 
climate ruin April flowers, like those of Magnolia stellata, M. kobus 
and early flowering Rhododendrons. 
Winter-fiowering Witch Hazels. The southern Missouri and Asiatic 
Witch Hazels have all flowered during the winter, but for some reason 
which it is not easy to explain their flowers opened five or six weeks 
later than in other j^ears. Hamamelis mollis from central China is 
the handsomest of these plants and well deserves a place in winter 
gardens for its flowers with their large bright yellow petals and hand- 
some leaves which in late autumn assume before failing brilliant shades 
of yellow. A Japanese species {H. ivcarnata), differing from all the 
other Witch Hazels in the dark red petals of its small flowers drooping 
on long stems, is a recent addition to the Arboretum collection and has 
flowered here this winter for the first time. As a botanical curiosity 
it is interesting, but judged by the first flowers it has produced in 
America it has little to recommend it as a garden plant. 
Cornus mas. The Cornelian Cherry of old-fashioned gardens opened 
its first flowers on April 18th. and the leafless branches are still cov- 
ered with its compact, many-flowered clusters of small bright yellow 
flowers which are unusuallj'' abundant this spring. This Cornel is a 
native of eastern Europe and western Asia, and for three centuries at 
least has been a favorite garden plant in western Europe. It is a large 
and shapely shrub and with a little care can be made to grow with a 
single stem in the form of a small tree. It is handsome from early 
spring until late in the autumn, for the leaves are large dark green 
and lustrous but fall without having changed their color, and the short 
oblong, scarlet, lustrous or rarely yellow fruit which hangs on stout stems 
is cherry-like in appearance and ornamental. The fact that the flow- 
ers are never injured by April frosts greatly adds to the value of this 
plant for the spring decoration of parks and gardens in the northern 
states. 
Corylopsis is an Asiatic genus of the Witch Haze) Family with light 
yellow flowers in long drooping clusters appearing before the leaves 
which have a general resemblance to those of the Witch Hazels. Nearly 
all the species are represented in the collection but only C. Gotoana, 
a native of the elevated regions of central Japan, is worthy of gen- 
eral cultivation in eastern Massachusetts, for it is perfectly hardy here 
even the flower-buds having been uninjured by the exceptionally low 
