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turn, and during the last two or three years these have been distribu¬ 
ted among American nurserymen. They are easily raised and grow 
rapidly, so that there seems a chance that these beautiful plants will 
soon be seen in many American gardens. 
Azaleas. This is a good year for most of the Azaleas. The earliest 
of them, Rhododendron dahuricum and R. mucronulatum (all Azaleas 
are now called Rhododendrons), were full of flower-buds, although those 
of the former were killed by a late frost. The red-flowered Japanese 
R. Kaempferi has never before been so splendid, and R . Vaseyi, the 
earliest of the American species to bloom, is as usual covered with 
its clear pink or rarely white flowers, and these in a few days will be 
followed by the rose-pink flowers of R. canescens and R. nudiflorum; 
and for nearly two months more Azalea flowers will add beauty and 
interest to the Arboretum. 
Lomicera syringantha. Attention is called to the plant of this Chin¬ 
ese Honeysuckle in the collection of Chinese Shrubs on Bussey Hill, 
which is now covered with its small violet colored and violet scented 
flowers which have not before been produced in such profusion. The 
arching stems, small leaves and fragrant flowers make this one of the 
most charming plants blooming this spring in the Arboretum. Many 
other Honeysuckles are flowering now in the Shrub Collection, and on 
the right-hand side of the Bussey Hill Road. Here is a good oppor¬ 
tunity to see how Bush Honeysuckles of the Tartarian type and its 
hybrids can develop into great shapely bushes when they are allowed 
sufficient space in which to grow. 
The earliest Rose to flower in the Arboretum this year is R. iZcae, 
a native of Afghanistan and Turkestan; it has erect stems, leaves with 
small, very lustrous leaflets, and pale yellow flowers not more than an 
inch in diameter. The first flowers of R. Hugonis, R. omeiensis and R. 
cinnamomea are also opening. R. Hugonis has not before in the Ar¬ 
boretum been so full of flower-buds, and next week to any one inter¬ 
ested in Roses will well repay a visit. 
Viburnums of the week are, the English Traveller’s Tree, Viburnum 
lantana, and the American Black Haw, V. prunifolium. The former 
is a tall, broad bush, with wide gray-green leaves and large convex 
clusters of white flowers which are followed by handsome and abundant 
lustrous fruits, bright red when fully grown, and then gradually turning 
black. This is one of the European shrubs which grows as well here 
as in its native country. Fortunately it can now be found in American 
nurseries. The Black Haw is an arborescent shrub or a tree occasion¬ 
ally thirty feet high with a round-topped head of spreading branches; 
the narrow pointed leaves are lustrous and in the autumn turn deep 
rich wine color; the flowers are white, in rather smaller clusters than 
those of the other American tree Viburnums, and the large fruit in 
drooping clusters is dark blue or nearly black and covered with a 
glaucous bloom. This is a good plant for wood-margins and the bor¬ 
ders of roads. 
