PARK AND CEMETERY. 
49 
TREES AND SHRUBS THAT ARE IN FLOWER IN APRIL 
MAGNOLIA STELLATA. 
CORNrS MAS. 
The month of April ma}- be said to be 
the first one of the season in which 
trees and shrubs flower in tlie middle 
states. Should March be warm a few 
shrubs flower then, but they are not to 
be relied on before, April. The follow- 
ing list contains the greater number of 
those that may be looked for in April ; 
Dirca palustris, Jasminum nudiflorum. 
Chimonanthus fragrans. Daphne Meze- 
reum, Cornus Mas, Lindera Benzoin, 
Lonicera Standishi, Magnolia stellata, 
Corylopsis spicata, Forsythea in va- 
riety. Rhus aromatica. Amelanchier, in 
variety. Amygdalus nana. and Azalea 
amcena. 
Of the above list photographs of two 
of them, the Cornus Mas and Magncvlia 
stellata, are presented with this. There 
is. too, a small photograph of the Cor- 
nus to better display the flowers. Mag- 
nolia stellata is sometimes called M. 
Halleana. It is a species every one 
looks for in a collection, as it is the 
first of all to flower, and its habit is so 
bush-like. The flowers are white, of 
a light pink in the hud, semi-double and 
fragrant. Magnolias produce a flower 
bud on the' end of every shoot, as a 
rule, and as the stellata makes innumer- 
able twigs, there are thousands of flow- 
ers on a bush like the one illustrated. 
Cornus Mas is another early and 
beautiful flowering shrub, a native of 
Europe. Just as soon as the last freez- 
ings are over — and before sometimes — 
the flowers expand. They are not large, 
but are numerous, and altogether make 
a fine display. The bush from which 
our illustration came stands out alone 
on a private lawn, and being vis- 
ible from the roadside, it is greatly ad- 
mired. A small twig was photographed 
separately to show the character of the 
flow'ers. The flowers are yellow and, as 
may be surmised, a large, handsome 
bush like the one of our picture is a 
great attraction in the first days of 
spring. 
A few brief notes on the other trees 
and shrubs named will be in order. 
FLOWERING TWIG OF CORNUS MAS. 
Dirca palustris is called leatherwood, 
because its branches may be twisted 
like a leather string without injury. It 
has small yellow flowers, before its 
leaves, and red berries follow. Jas- 
minum nudiflorum is the well known 
hardy jasmine. It will flower in March 
in a warm spot when a few warm days 
meet it. It is best to plant it on a 
northern exposure, to retard its flow- 
ering. Chimonanthus fragrans has 
whitish yellow flowers. They are ex- 
tremely impatient to expand. Their 
fragrance is delightful. This shrub 
should also have a northern e.xposure, 
but it is not hardy in the very cold 
states. Daphne Merzereum is early and 
sweet. 'I'he flowers are open in the first 
few early days of spring, and after 
them pretty berries adorn the hushes, 
Lindera Benzoin is the old Laurus 
Benzoin, the si)ice l>ush of our woods. 
Its small yellow flowers arc produced 
early, and in great abundance. All parts 
of the hush, leaves, berries, twigs and 
roots, possess a pleasant odor. Loni- 
cera Standishi liclongs to the bush 
honeysuckle class. Its flowers are 
white, with a taint pink tinge, and they 
c.xpand among tlie earliest of all in 
April. Corylopsis is a shrub having 
light yclhjw flowers, produced in droo])- 
ing racemes, appearing before the 
leaves, as is the case with the greater 
numlier of those mentioned. Forsythea 
is the golden hell, and exists in more 
than one species. F. viridissima is the 
oldest known. It has a stiff growth 
.\nother, F. suspensa, is of a drooping 
hal)it. Both have yellow flowers, the 
last named one having them a shade 
