15 
promise to be perfectly hardy. The flowers of none of them, however, 
are as handsome as some of those of the better known species, al- 
though Syringa rejlexa is interesting as the only Lilac which bears 
its flowers in drooping clusters. These new Chinese Lilacs are planted 
along the southern end of the grass path which follows the top of the 
bank occupied by the Lilac Collection. Lilacs have been flowering in 
the Arboretum now for the last two weeks and will continue to flower 
until the first of July. Most of the varieties of the common Lilac will 
be in flower when this Bulletin reaches its readers living near Boston. 
Red-flowered Azaleas. When the red-flowered Japanese Azalea 
(. Rhododendron Kaempferi) blooms it is one of the great periods in 
the Arboretum. It is planted in masses at the lower end of Azalea 
Path, in a large group under the shade of the Hemlocks on Hemlock 
Hill, and on the northern edge of Hemlock Hill in a long narrow band 
between the Hemlocks and the Laurels (Kalmia). The flowers of this 
plant are so delicate that they soon fade when fully exposed to the 
sun, and it is desirable to select a partially shaded position for it sim- 
ilar to the northern base of Hemlock Hill. Here the plants flower a 
week or ten days later than they do on Azalea Path, where they are 
now fully open, and so prolong in the Arboretum the flowering period 
of this brilliant hardy shrub. 
A new Korean Azalea. Among the plants introduced into the Arbor- 
etum by Mr. Jack a few years ago one of the most valuable is an 
Azalea which has now been named Rhododendron coreanum. In culti- 
vation here it is a low, compact, round-topped shrub with large, rosy 
mauve or red- violet flowers marked near the base of the corolla with 
small dark spots; the flowers of few Azaleas have a more delicate and 
delightful perfume. During the past week a number of these plants 
on the upper side of Azalea Path have been covered with flowers. 
They have been growing here in one of the most exposed spots in the 
Arboretum for three years and have never been at all injured by cold or 
drought, and it seems safe to predict that this Azalea will be a first- 
rate plant for New England gardens. 
An interesting Apple. Little is known in this country of an Apple 
tree Malus ringo, which is one of the latest of the Asiatic Apples to 
flower in the Arboretum. It was introduced from Japan into Europe 
by Siebold some sixty years ago and was called by him Pyrus ringo, 
Ringo being the common name for the Apple tree in Japan. It is not 
a Japanest tree, however, but before the introduction of European 
Apples appears to have been generally cultivated there. Now it is 
rare in Japan although occasionally found in the north where it is 
called Rinke, having been replaced in the more southern parts of 
the country by varieties of European or American Apples. Wilson in 
his travels in China discovered this Apple-tree growing wild on the 
mountains of Hupeh at elevations of from four thousand to five thous- 
and feet above the sea and that it is the cultivated Apple of western 
China. The interesting thing about this tree is that it flourishes equally 
well as a fruit tree in the hot climate of Ichang, only a few feet above 
the sea level, where oranges ripen their fruit, and on the borders of 
