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others detest them. All the forms of the garden Lilac have practi- 
cally the same habit and foliage, and the same inconspicuous fruit; 
they all bloom freely nearly every year, and breeding and selection 
have not affected their perfume as it has that of so many much “im- 
proved” plants, like many of the modern Roses. There is considerable 
variation in the size of the individual flowers; the double flowers open 
generally a little later than the single flowers and last longer, but 
there is really little difference in the time of flowering of all these 
plants. The size of the flower-cluster varies somewhat on the differ- 
ent forms; it is larger on young plants than on old ones, and it can al- 
ways be enlarged by severe pruning which increases the vigor of the 
flower-bearing branches. Choice therefore depends on color, and really 
none of these Lilacs are “best” for everybody; one color or one shade 
is “best” for one person and another color or another shade is “best” 
for another person. Many persons who come to the Arboretum And the 
old Lilacs which have been growing on Bussey Hill for nearly a hun- 
dred years more beautiful than any of Lemoine’s recent creations be- 
cause they are the Lilacs which have long been common in old New 
England gardens and beloved by generations of New Englanders. A 
choice of Lilacs being largely a matter of taste in color or of associa- 
tion, it is useless to ask the Arboretum to make selections for its cor- 
respondents. If persons want Lilacs their only way to go about get- 
ting them in an intelligent way is to come to the Arboretum when the 
Lilacs are in' flower and personally make their selection. The plants 
are all legibly labelled, and many of the kinds growing in the Arbore- 
tum can now be found in several American nurseries. 
Early Lilacs. The white-flowered Syringa affinis, which is usually 
the first Lilac to bloom in the Arboretum, has no flowers this year. 
This is unusual for this plant rarely fails to produce an abundant crop 
of flowers. The earliness and the delightful fragrance of the flowers 
give this plant value for the spring garden. The variety with mauve- 
colored fragrant flowers (var. Giraldii) is blooming as usual; it is a 
tall, unsightly shrub, and except when in flower of no decorative value. 
The flower-buds of the Arboretum plant of Syringa oblata, another 
north China early flowering species, have been killed, but in other gar- 
dens near Boston they are uninjured. This is one of the handsomest 
of the species and no other Lilac has such thick and lustrous leaves 
which in the autumn assume brilliant shades of orange and red. The 
flower-buds, however, are too often injured in this climate, although 
the plant itself is perfectly hardy. By crossing this plant with a 
double-flowered form of Syringa vulgaris the plant known as S. hya- 
cinthijioria was obtained in Europe many years ago. It is a large, 
shapely bush, with good foliage and small clusters of double bluish 
lilac flowers as fragrant as those of S. oblata. This hybrid is now in 
bloom. A Chinese Lilac discovered by Wilson, S. pinnati folia, is also 
in flower. The pinnate leaves of this plant make it interesting among 
Lilacs, but the small white flowers in short clusters are without orna- 
mental value. The flowers of another rare Chinese species, S. Meyeri, 
will soon open; and generally all the hybrid Lilacs, and all the species 
are well covered with flower-buds. 
