11 
hardy and where it flowers abundantly every year. It is the only bright 
red-flowered Azalea v/hich is hardy in the Arboretum, and although the 
flowers are less beautiful than those of R. Schlippenbachii and R. jap- 
onieum the plants when in bloom make a more brilliant and sensational 
display than any others which can be grown in this climate. The flow- 
ers are soon injured by a hot sun and the best results have been ob- 
tained with this Azalea with plants grown under the shade of trees 
or on the north side of Conifers, as at the northern base of Hem- 
lock Hill in the rear of the Laurels {Kalmia latifolia). The plants are 
covered with opening flower-buds and before the end of this week will 
make on Azalea Path and Bussey Hill Road one of the great flower 
festivals of the Arboretum year. 
Rhododendron japonicum is common and widely distributed over a 
large part of the m.ain island of Japan where it grows on grass-cov- 
ered slopes and among other shrubs. It was first raised here in 1893 
from seeds collected by Professor Sargent on the hills above Nikko. 
It was, however, long mistaken here for another plant and has suffered 
from the confusion of names which at different times have been given 
to it. In recent years its value as a garden plant, however, has been 
recognized at the Arboretum; and it is now realized that it is the hand- 
somest of the yellow or orange-flowered Azaleas, with the exception 
of its hybrids and of the Appalachian R. calendulaceum, and, with the 
exception of R. Schlippenbachii ^ the handsomest of the Asiatic Azaleas 
which can be grown in the northern states. There is a form of this 
plant with deep yellow flowers (var. superba) in the collection which 
promises to be a good garden plant here. The hybrid raised in Mr. 
HunnewelPs garden at Wellesley, Massachusetts, between R. japoni- 
cum and the Chinese R. molle {R. sinense) and called “Louisa Hunne- 
well” is the most beautiful of all yellow-flowered Azaleas, and the 
most beautiful hardy hybrid Azalea which has been raised in the United 
States. It is of the same parentage as that of the Azaleas which have 
been propagated in large numbers in Dutch and Belgian nurseries dur- 
ing the last thirty or forty years and sold under the name of Azalea 
mollis. The correct name for this hybrid is Rhododendron Kosterianum 
and it must not be confused with the true Rhododendron or Azalea 
mollis which is a yellow-flowered plant from the hills of eastern China, 
and, as we have already said, one of the parents of R. Kosterianum. 
Chaenomeles. This is the generic name now given to the red-flow- 
ered Quince which was formerly called Pyrus japonica. This plant has 
been in American gardens for many years and at one time was one of 
the most popular garden and hedge plants in the country, especially in 
the middle and southern states where it is still common. It is not rare 
in New England, although perhaps less common here than southward. 
The flower-buds sometimes suffer here in severe winters, and the plants 
need constant attention to save them from the San Jose scale which 
commonly infests this Quince. Although first introduced into Europe 
from Japanese gardens, it is not a Japanese but a Chinese plant and 
is properly called Chaenomeles lagenaria. There is a collection of gar- 
den varieties of this Quince chiefly raised in Germany in the Shrub Col- 
