THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
11 
the Forsythia, the Japan Quinces came into bloom, bril¬ 
liant indeed with their deep scarlet, Wild-Rose-like 
flowers, covering branch and twig, except the latest 
growth, from the very base of the bush to the ends of 
the wood. There are a white and a bluish-flowered 
variety, and another named Umbelicata, which has 
Rose-red flowers that are succeeded by large, showy 
fruit. For a group to be backed by a larger one of 
Arbor Yitse or a few Spruces nothing is better than these 
Japan Quinces. For a boundary hedge, too, a row of 
these Quinces of the three kinds intermingled and kept 
within bounds by clipping would be very desirable. 
The Rhododendron family including various Azaleas, 
and the gorgeous Rhododendron cataivbiense, with its 
large, dense spikes of bloom, glossy, dark, evergreen 
leaves, are exceedingly beautiful. These bloom in May 
and later on. The Deutzias, of which the first is Deut- 
zia gracilis, =an exquisitely beautiful, dwarf, compact 
bush, which covers itself with 'spikes of pretty white 
flowers, and the second is Deutzia crenata flore pleno, a 
taller bush with pinkish and white double flowers in 
long spikes, bloom in June. The Silver-Bell, ( Halesia .) a 
low, graceful tree, native to the North Carolina forests, 
blooms also at this time, The Weigelas, white and rose- 
colored, flower a little later, and another, Weigela splen- 
dens, blooms in September, and is a remarkably hand¬ 
some shrub. The Syringas, of which Pliiladelplius 
coronarius is the first to bloom in June, following 
closely upon the Weigela, are a family of very useful 
shrubs. Philadelphus gordonianus blooms later; Pliila- 
delphus grandiflorus has large, showy flowers, and 
Philadelphus laxus has still larger. All these are white 
flowered, and other varieties are later in flowering. In 
June, which is the month of flowers, the yellow-wood, 
Cladastris tinctoria, also called Virgilea lutea, comes 
into blossom. This is a small tree, and standing alone 
is very ornamental with its rounded head, compound 
leaves, like those of the Locusts, and its white, sweet- 
scented, pea-shaped flowers hanging profusely in long, 
drooping racemes, which cover the tree. If there were 
but one tree to be chosen, it should be this, both for its 
bloom and its leaves, which become yellow in autumn. 
Later in July the Kolreuteria paniculata bursts into 
bloom. This is a small, round-headed tree, and bears 
late in July large panicles of brilliant golden-yellow 
blossoms; the leaves turn to a fine yellow in autumn. 
Just before this Pavia macrostachya, the dwarf, sweet- 
scented, white-flowering Horse-Chestnut shows its deli¬ 
cate feathery spikes or sprays of cream-colored, slender 
flowers, with their projecting reddish tipped anthers. 
These flowers have a peculiar sweet and agreeable odor, 
and when the bush has been trained properly, it is sur¬ 
passingly beautiful. It has the digitate, five-parted leaf 
peculiar to the Horse-Chestnut tribe. It is wholly lost and 
thrown away when crowdedamongothertrees, and should 
stand alone on the side of a lawn or in a bend of a path. 
It stools from the root, sending up a number of stems, 
and when placed alone forms a close bush much longer 
and wider than it is high. When in bloom and covered 
with its creamy white feathery spikes, it is not equaled 
by any other shrub, except, perhaps, the gorgeous Rho¬ 
dodendrons under the very best care and cultivation. 
These come easily first in the list of shrubs, with their 
brilliant white, pink, or red clusters of flowers, each 
cluster scarcely to be put into a peck measure. But it 
is rare, indeed, that Rhododendrons are thus seen in our 
dry, hot summers, requiring, as they do, a cool, damp, 
shaded situation, such as the rocky banks of a moun¬ 
tain stream where the air is moist with the spray of a 
tumbling cascade. They are mountaineers, strictly, 
and perhaps can never be seen to better advantage than 
in the narrow gorges in the Swiss mountains, although 
they furnish one of the greatest charms of our own 
Blue Mountain region from West Virginia southward. 
The latest flowering shrubs are the Atheas, known 
commonly as “Rose of Sharon.” These belong to the 
Hibiscus family of the order Malvacece, to which the 
Cotton Plant, the Hollyhocks, and the Marsh-mallow 
belong, and have the typical form of flower of these. 
There are several varieties, of which the rarer are but 
seldom seen and are very handsome. The plant in any 
form is a fine one, but as some varieties have double 
flowers they are more desirable. Hibiscus syriacus has 
violet-red flowers; variety Due de Brabant is purple 
and one of the best bloomers; there is a double-flowered 
variety of this kind; variety Leopoldii has double flesh- 
colored flowers, with laciniated leaves; other varieties 
are red, pure white, white with purple outside, and a 
double violet colored one. About this time the large 
panicled Hydrangea produces its enormous conical clus¬ 
ters of pure flowers in the greatest abundance. A small 
plant not more than five feet high may easily have 
more than a hundred of these panicles, some more than 
a foot long, hanging gracefully at the ends of the 
drooping stems. The flowerets continue opening from 
the base to the apex, until the first frosts cause them to 
blush and then fade into a dull pink color, when their 
glory departs with that of the season, and we may 
hasten to prepare for the quickly-coming winter.— 
Henry Stewart in N. Y. Times. 
SPECIMEN PLANTS. 
This is a bit of sidewalk conversation I heard the 
other day as I passed along the street: “Come and see 
my nev? silk quilt.” “ I will!” “ I wish you could see 
one my cousin in New York is making. I have just re¬ 
turned home from a visit to her. So many pieces, and 
every piece embroidered—Japanese style you know, and 
she is going to line it with new ottoman silk that cost 
two dollars a yard. Now, that is what I call foolish !” 
“Ditto, the whole of it,” thought I. Another thought 
came into my mind. “ Why don’t ladies turn their atten¬ 
tion more to plant-raising and less to patch-work; more 
to growing real flowers and less to making imitations of 
them on silk and satin ?” Don’t think I despise patch- 
work or embroidery; indeed, I shall confess to ^its be¬ 
witchingness, and own that I sometimes do a little;.,but 
I mean where 'so many hours are spent, weeks—even 
