12 
lection, and this spring the plants have been unusually full of flowers. 
The varieties differ in the color of the flowers and in the size and shape 
of the plants. The most conspicuous of these plants when it is in bloom 
is the var. Simonii, of dwarf habit and with intensely scarlet flowers. 
The white flowers of the var. nevalis attract attention, as do the car- 
dinal red flowers of the var. cardinalis. The varieties of this Quince 
do not seem to be known to American nurserymen, and plants probably 
are difficult to obtain. Another species of the red-flowered Quinces 
is a native of Japan and a smaller and hardier shrub than the Chinese 
species, with smaller flowers and fruits, and often semiprostrate stems. 
Often called in gardens Pyrus MauLei, the correct name for this plant 
is Chaenomeles japonica. There is a dwarf variety of this plant (var. 
alpina) with smaller flowers and fruit w'hich is an excellent subject 
for the rock-garden. Chaenomeles japonica has been growing in the 
Arboretum since 1893 when it was raised from seeds collected by Pro- 
fessor ISargent on the mountains of Hondo. A hybrid of the Chinese 
and Japanese species raised in Switzerland several yeais ago has re- 
ceived the name of Chaerioyneles stipe rba. There are several named 
varieties of this hybrid in the Arboretum collection differing in the color 
of the flowers. The varieties rosea, perjecta and alba are perhaps 
the most distinct and interesting. 
Berberis Dielsiana, raised from seeds collected by Purdom in Shensi, 
is one of the new Barberries in the Chinese collection on Bussey Hill 
where it has already grown eight feet tall and comparatively broad. 
It is one of the species with flowers in drooping racemes, like those of 
the common Barberry. It is a handsome plant, and valuable for its 
early flowers which this year were opening the middle of April, and 
only a day or two later than those of another Chinese species, Berberis 
dictyophyila which has always been the earliest Barberry to flower in 
the Arboretum. Berberis DieLsiatta first flowered in the Arboretum in 
1916, and in that year the flowers opened the middle cf May. This 
Barberry deserves the attention of persons interested in hardy early- 
flowering shrubs. 
Daphne genkwa. A small plant of this Daphne by Hickory Path, 
near Centre Street, is now covered with its violet-colored flowers which 
open before the leaves unfold. Although first sent to this country from 
Japanese gardens nearly sixty years ago, this plant is still little known 
here. It is not very hardy and suffers here in cold winters; it flour- 
ishes, however, on the shores of Buzzards Bay in southern Massachu- 
setts and it will probably grow well in the southern states. At the 
north, grown in a pot, it should make a good subject for conservatory 
decoration as it could easily be brought into flower at midwinter, and 
the unusual color of the fragrant flowers would make it popular. 
Hawthorns are already in bloom, and Hawthorn-flowers will open in 
the Arboretum continuously during the next six or seven weeks. The 
first species to flower this year is as usual the European Crataegus 
nigra- it is closely followed by several American species of the large- 
growing, large-flowered species of the Molles Group, notably C. mollis, 
C. Arnoldiana and C. suhmollis. 
