6 
caped and now these plants are again covered with flowers. Corylop- 
sis is a genus of the Witch Hazel Family and is confined to the Him- 
alayas and to China and Japan. They are shrubs with leaves which 
generally resemble those of the Witch Hazel and drooping spikes of 
fragrant clear yellow flowers. Two species discovered by Wilson in 
western China, Corylopsis Veitchiana and C. Willmottae, are now in 
bloom on Bussey Hill, and on the lower side of Hickory Path near 
Centre Street there is a plant of the rare Japanese C. Gotoana also in 
flower. This plant, which is not rare in central Japan, appears to be 
little known in gardens. The Arboretum specimen was raised here 
from seed collected in Japan in 1905 by Mr. Jack, and has now flowered 
here for several years. The flower-buds seem less liable to injury by 
spring frosts than those of some of the other species, and it is prob- 
able that when this beautiful shrub is better known it will become 
popular for the decoration of the spring garden. The flowers are of a 
delicate canary-yellow color and paler than those of the other species. 
Rhododendron praecox, “Little Gem.” This is the first of the ever- 
green Rhododendrons to bloom; it is a variety of R. praecox which is 
a hybrid between the Himalayan R. ciliatum and the Siberian R. dahur- 
icum mentioned in the last issue of these Bulletins. R. praecox is a 
shrub two or three feet high with thick oval leaves bright green on 
the upper surface and rusty below, and few-flowered clusters of pale 
purple or lilac flowers which in the variety Little Gem are somewhat 
larger and paler in color. This variety is a handsome plant and would 
be a desirable ornament for the spring garden were not the flowers 
too often destroyed by spring frosts. This spring, as they were last 
year, the plants are beautifully in flower and can be seen in the Rho- 
dodendron Collection at the base of Hemlock Hill. 
Prunus mandshurica. This is a hardy Apricot tree which grows vig- 
orously in the Arboretum, and can now be seen in flower in the Peach 
and Apricot Group on the slope above the Meadow Road beyond the 
piece of natural woods. By some authors this tree is considered a 
variety of the common Apricot (P. Armeniaca) but it is very distinct 
from that tree in the pale bark on the stem and branches and in the 
shape of the leaves. The flowers which have a deep red calyx and 
petals faintly tinged with rose are nearly an inch across and are just 
now conspicuous on the leafless branches. The fruit is nearly globu- 
lar, not more than an inch in diameter, yellow spotted with red, with 
sweet succulent flesh; it is inferior to that of cultivated forms of the 
common Apricot, but as P. mandshurica is very hardy varieties may 
perhaps be developed with the fruit as good as that of the best culti- 
vated Apricots, and hardy where that tree cannot be cultivated. This 
Apricot as it now grows in the Arboretum is an important addition to 
the group of hardy ornamental early-flowering trees. 
Prunus dehiscens. This little almond is now in flower in the collec- 
tion of Chinese shrubs on the southern slope of Bussey Hill. It is a 
small, spiny, intricately branched shrub with small pale pink flowers 
