July 2, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
541 
Himalayan Rhododendrons, 
At the usual monthly dinner of the Horticultural Club at the 
Hotel Windsor on Tuesday, June 14th, Mr. Harry J. Veitch 
presided pending the arrival of Sir John Llewelyn,, Bart,., who 
subsequently read an extremely interesting paper on the above 
subject. The occasion was further signalised by the presence 
as guests of Messrs. Watsom-,, of Kew; Moore, of Glasnevin; 
Sir George Watt, of Indian chemical renown; and Mr. Tu-teher, 
of Hong-kong, all recognised experts in the particular branch 
of floriculture involved. Sir John Llewellyn’s paper was so 
replete with interesting data, and withal -so pithy in its com¬ 
pilation, that it is impossible in a mere abstract toi do it a 
tithe of justice. Fortunately, however, it will eventually 
appear in extenso in the “ R.H.S. Journal,” so that its valuable 
contents will be -adequately published and preserved. It is a 
great pity that a-si much cannot be- said of the subsequent dis¬ 
cussion the lecture evoked, embracing as it- did the experience 
in various fields of such gentlemen asi Messrs. Mo-ore and 
Watson, and last, but by no means least, of Sir George Watt. 
To deal with the -paper first-, it embraced amongst many other 
points a list- of the best hardy species, varieties, and hybrids of 
the Himalayan section,, with some brief references to- the Rho¬ 
dodendrons of other co-un.triee, which were necessarily merely 
alluded to, owing to- the magnitude of the main theme-. Hardi¬ 
ness, lie po-inted out, must always be to some extent a, relative 
term, since the vagaries of the English -springs made tem¬ 
porary victims sometimes even of o-ur absolutely hardy native 
plants, cutting to- thei ground the precocious growths induced 
by prematurely tempting weather. 
Rhododendrons-, however, of Himalayan origin, were, as a 
rule, capable of withstanding great and sudden, fluctuations, 
and this fact was later on explained by Sir George Watt, who 
found many of the species) at elevation® of 14,000 ft. to 
16,000 ft., blooming in perfection and clothing the hills- with 
their floral masses on the veiy brink of the eternal snows-. 
The affection for peat and repugnance to lime were strongly 
emphasised, but- Sir John Llewellyn, has no -peat in His locality, 
and cultivates most successfully in loamy soil mixed with leaf- 
mould. . In t-his connection,, Sir George Watt stated that in 
the- native Sikkim habitats the soil was of such a loose, peaty 
nature that the arm could be plunged entirely into it, and that., 
moreover, it was o-f a, dry, open character. On the other hand’ 
the yearly rainfall averages 250 in., and it may be taken, as an, 
essential factor in the success o-f Rhododendrons -that a fair 
amount of rainfall exists, an item which, however, is partly 
counterbalanced b-y the- self-protection o-f the roots, afforded by 
the drooping lower branches which it is- desirable to- encourage 
to that end. The lecturer paid a fair meed of praise to- those who 
have contributed to- raise the Rhodo-dendroni-to its present- high 
position by importation of ne-w s-pecies-, selective culture, and 
judicious hybridisation,, and also indicated the “ points” which 
the flowera should possess in order to attain the ideal of per¬ 
fection. The question of propagation was als-o- dealt- with -ex¬ 
haustively, grafting being severely deprecated and layering 
advocated, in which connection Sir George Watt stated that in 
the native habitats the plants layered themselves by means of 
looting lower branches, and in this 1 way formed interminable 
and impenetrable masses, over which alone a passage oo-uld be 
oreed. The debt- of the Rhododendron lover to the hybridist 
v as fully recognised, and many valuable suggestions as to¬ 
rn ther alliances made. In, short, the whole paper formed a 
lgest of all essential points, and was recognised as -such by the 
many experts present, a,s it- will be by others when it appears in 
Sir George Watt, who- opened the discus-sion, considered that 
"i species excelled cultivated ones, and stated that- there 
v ere three great and distinct Rhododendron areas in the Him¬ 
alayas which _ presented some veiy peculiar and puzzling 
? a ur f s > varying as they did so greatly from each other in 
c eva ion and climatical conditions-, the -habitats-, for instance, 
ranging from 14,000 up to 16,000 ft. in one area, with an, 
normo-us- rainfall, and at- another almost, reaching the sea -level 
some 30 to- 40 in. rainfall o-nly. It is to thisi wide range, 
especially of elevation, that unlooked-for tenderness in, so-me 
imported species may be ascribed, the- seed being s-ent from 
easily accessible sources; that is, to- say, fro-m the lower and 
warmer regions, instead o-f from the great heights where abso¬ 
lute hardiness is enforced by the environment. His descrip¬ 
tion of the aspect o-f Rhododendron-clothed hillsides for miles 
was- most vivid, and some of the varietal facts most curious-, one 
and the same specie-s flanking one side of a hill with pure 
white, and the other with deep red. 
Mr. F. W. Mo-o-re took up the botanists’ side of the hybrid 
questions -and maintained the need o-f representative collections 
°f Pure species in. national gardens; he fully re-cognis-ed, how¬ 
ever, the value of hybrids. He- alsoi deprecated grafting, and 
Rhododendron Pink Peake. (Seep. 539) 
especially that injudicious) grafting to-o- often, effected by foreign 
trade growers without any study whatever of the affinities and 
consequent fitness for union, of stock and scion,. Mr. Wat-so-n 
defended hybrids, and related a curious anecdote connected 
with Rhododendron seed importation, as collected by natives, 
a hundred species- figuring on, the packet labels, which, when 
raised, demonstrated collection- from one and the same plant, 
the result being an unmerited slur on, Kew as -the generous 
distributor of the “ une-flower progeny.” Mi*. Hariy J. Veitch 
co-uple-d some pregnant- remarks on Rhododendron culture, in 
which his old firm occupies so- prominent a, position, with the 
tendering o-f a hearty vo-te of thanks, t-o the lecturer for his 
pap-er, and to- the- gue-sts who- had contributed so much of value 
to the discussion it. evoked. C. T. D. 
Strawberry-picking has commenced in the home counties, 
and the crop is expected to be unusually abundant. 
