B9 
flowers of the Japanese and Chinese Witch Hazels which last well 
through February and do not suffer from the severest cold eastern 
Massachusetts ever has to endure. Then before the end of March the 
flowers of some of the Willows open and begin the long procession 
which only ends in November. The introduction of the Asiatic Witch 
Hazels has added greatly to the interest of northern gardens in winter 
and they are bright and cheerful winter companions. They might, 
therefore, well find a place near every country home and in small city 
yards. The flowers of the Chinese species, Hamamelis mollis , are 
larger and of a brighter yellow color than the flowers of the other 
Witch Hazels and this promises to be the best worth cultivation of 
them all. It is a perfectly hardy vigorous shrub, grows rapidly, and 
begins to flower when only a few feet high. Specimens of all the 
species of Hamamelis are planted in the group of these plants on the 
Meadow Road, and the best specimen of Hamamelis mollis is on Hick- 
ory Path near Centre Street. 
Evonymus alatus. The leaves of many of the trees and shrubs of 
eastern Asia turn to as brilliant colors in the autumn as those of the 
related species of eastern North America. Usually, however, the 
leaves of the Asiatic species change color later than those of the 
American species, and in Japan the best color effects are in November 
or a month later than here. There are, of course, many exceptions 
to this general rule. The leaves of Evonymus alatus, for example, 
were brilliant in the Arboretum ten days ago and are already begin- 
ning to fall. This is a shapely shrub six or eight feet tall and ten or 
twelve feet broad, distinguished by the corky wings of the branches. 
The flowers, as in all the species of this genus, are not conspicuous 
and the fruit is smaller and less showy than that of many of these 
plants. The great value of this hardy Japanese Burning Bush is 
therefore found in the autumn coloring of the leaves, which assume a 
deep rose color of exquisite beauty and unlike that produced by any 
other hardy plant in cultivation. 
Acer ginnala. The leaves of this Maple also turn and fall by the 
middle of October, and equal or surpass in their autumn scarlet those 
of any American plant. Acer ginnala is a small shrubby tree with 
deeply dentated leaves, sometimes thirty feet high, and very common 
along forest borders near Vladivostok and in other parts of eastern 
Siberia. The flowers are produced in rather compact clusters and, 
unlike those of other Maples, are distinctly fragrant. This Maple is 
one of the first Siberian trees introduced by the Arboretum and it is 
now gradually finding its way into general cultivation in this country. 
Nyssa sylvatica. There is perhaps no more beautiful object this week 
in the Arboretum than the group of these trees variously known as 
Sour Gum, Tupelo and Pepperidge. The scarlet and orange colors of 
the leaves of the Sour Gum in October are probably not surpassed by 
those of any other American tree and their beauty is increased by the 
lustre of the leaves which adds to their autumn brilliancy. The 
Tupelo is a common and widely distributed tree, occurring from Maine 
to Florida, Missouri and Texas. At the north, especially near the coast, 
it is usually found near the borders of swamps and ponds, and is a low, 
