2 
or only a day earlier than last year, and other April flowering shrubs 
have blossomed at their normal time. On April 2nd the temperature 
fell to 23° Fahrenheit. This ruined the flowers of the north China 
Peach ( Prunus Davidiana) which were just opening and those of the 
earliest of the Azaleas (. Rhododendron dahuricum) whose rose-colored 
corollas were just emerging from the buds. On the nights of the 24th 
and the 25th the thermometer registered as low as 24°. This ruined 
the flowers of the early blooming Magnolias, but the flowers of the 
Forsythias, Cherries, Plums and Apricots show no signs of injury. 
Freezing weather in April is not unusual in New England and its effect 
on the flowers of different plants can well be studied by persons who 
have in mind the planting of spring gardens. The flowers of Magnolia 
stellata, M. denudata (better known as M. conspicua), M. kobus and 
its variety borealis , which open in April, are too often ruined by frost. 
To prevent this it is desirable to plant these trees and shrubs on the 
north side of other trees, and especially of evergreen trees, where 
the flowers may be expected to open seven or eight days later 
than on plants fully exposed to the sun. The hybrid Chinese Mag¬ 
nolias with pink or rose-colored flowers all bloom later than the white- 
flowered species and their flowers are rarely injured by cold although 
the unfolding petals of some of these hybrids were badly discolored by 
the cold of the past week. These hybrids therefore, although their 
flowers are less beautiful than those of the species, are better garden 
plants in this climate. The best known of these hybrids is called M. 
Soulangeana , of which there are several varieties differing in the 
greater or less amount of pink or rose color in the petals. The flow¬ 
ers of Rhododendron dahuricum , as has already been stated, were 
spoiled this spring but last year were uninjured. Its variety with per¬ 
sistent leaves (var. sempervirens) bloomed a few days later and escaped 
injury. A few days later the flowers of the north China and Korean 
Rhododendron mucronulatum opened, and although now beginning to 
fade were in good condition during fully two weeks. A more southern 
plant and therefore inclined to bloom later than R. dahuricum, it is a 
better garden plant in this climate and one of the handsomest mid- 
April flowering shrubs in the Arboretum. The Cornelian Cherry ( Cor - 
nus Mas) is another plant for which the frosts of April have no ter¬ 
rors. The small, bright yellow flowers arranged in many-flowered 
clusters open late in March or in early April and remain in good condi¬ 
tion for three or four weeks. There is no record here of their injury 
by frost. This is a shapely shrub or small tree of excellent habit; 
the leaves are bright green and the scarlet or rarely yellow fruit, 
which ripens late in summer, is cherry-like in appearance. The Cor¬ 
nelian Cherry is a native of eastern Europe and western Asia, and has 
been grown in Old World gardens for three centuries. There is 
no better early flowering shrub for our northern gardens in which, 
although it was brought to America certainly more than a hundred 
years ago, it is still too little seen. 
Forsythias, after having lost a part of their flower-buds in three of 
the past five winters, are again covered with flowers which have not 
