4 
Erica carnea. In the Shrub Collection this Heath and its white-flow- 
ered variety are already in bloom. It is a common European plant 
which grows not more than five or six inches high but spreads into 
broad mats, and is the only one of the true Heaths which is really 
hardy in this climate. It is an excellent plant for the edging of beds 
and for the spring rock garden. 
Alnus hirsuta. To persons who know Alders only as they grow nat- 
urally in New England these plants are small or large shrubs, but the 
common European Alder, Alnus glutinosa, is at its best a large tree; 
there are two large tree Alders in the Pacific states and another in 
Arizona and Mexico, and in Japan and eastern Siberia some of the 
species are trees. One of these, Alnus hirsuta, should be better 
known for it is perfectly hardy here and has grown more rapidly than 
any other Japanese trees raised from the seeds brought from Japan 
by Professor Sargent in 1892. In the Arboretum it is a shapely tree 
already more than thirty feet high, with smooth, lustrous pale gray 
bark and Spreading branches, and large dark green leaves. Two plants 
of this Alder now in bloom can be seen on the right-hand side of the 
Meadow Road in front of the Linden Group. In Japan it is often a 
tree sixty or seventy feet tall with a trunk two feet in diameter, and 
there appears to be no reason why it should not grow as large in this 
country. Of all the tree Alders in the collection it has the most prom- 
ise of long life and large size, and it should prove a good tree in the 
northern states to ornament the borders of streams and ponds. In 
Japan this tree furnishes wood used for many purposes. 
The Japanese Cherry-trees in the Arboretum promise a full bloom 
and will be in flower in about ten days when there will be an oppor- 
tunity to see here some of the most beautiful of all spring-flowering 
trees. 
Automobiles are not admitted to the Arboretum, but visitors who 
desire carriages to meet them at the Forest Hills entrance can obtain 
them by telephoning to P. J. Brady, Jamaica 670, or to Malone & 
Keane, Jamaica 344. 
The subscription to these Bulletins is $1.00 per year, payable in 
advance. 
An illustrated guide to the Arboretum containing a map showing the 
position of the different groups of plants has been published. It will be 
found useful to persons unfamiliar with the Arboretum. Copies of this 
guide can be obtained at the Administration Building in the Arbor- 
etum, from the Secretary of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, from The Houghton, Mifflin Com- 
pany, 4 Park Street, Boston, and at the office of the Harvard Alumni 
Bulletin, 18 Plympton Street, Cambridge. Price, 30 cents. 
