House and Garden 
Tax 
LAURKL-MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM AND SEED PODS 
the scarlet seeds are exposed to view, each tied to its 
nest hy a slender thread, 
d'his tree takes kindly to cul¬ 
tivation. 
The mountain laurel is so 
well known that it needs hut 
a brief description. \ here 
is hardly a wild shruh in 
the forest that hears more 
aristocratic looking blossoms 
than this plant. Its haunts 
are in hilly, or mountainous 
places, especially in the 
woods; and it is m all its 
glory in the latter part ot 
May and throughout June. 
The pine woods of New Jer¬ 
sey are full of it, and wdien 
the clustered masses of pink- 
tinted bloom enliven the 
sombre green copses, it is 
indeed, a beautiful sight. 
1 his plant thrives so w'ell 
in cultivation that 1 wash to 
recommend it most heartily 
for the adornment of home 
grounds. We have only to re¬ 
move the young plants with¬ 
out injuring their roots, or 
allowing them to dry, hurry 
them into the ground and 
prune back the bush a little, and it will bloom 
freely after the second year. 
There is a smaller variety of laurel known as 
sheep-laurel or lambkill. It is said to be poison¬ 
ous to cattle or sheep, but its blossoms are cer¬ 
tainly food for the eye. This shruh ranges from 
six inches in height to six feet, and grows plen¬ 
tifully in South Jersey. 
We must visit the Alleghany and Blue Ridge 
Mountains in early July to fully appreciate the 
glories of the rhododendron. When this most 
magnificent of our native American shrubs covers 
whole mountainsides wdth its bloom, one stands 
aw-ed in the presence of such enchanting beauty. 
Nowhere else, it is said, does this shruh attain 
such an enormous size or luxuriance. 1 he blos¬ 
soms are rose pink, varying to w hite, greenish in the 
throat and spotted with yellow and orange, d'he 
rhododendron is one of the show iest and handsom¬ 
est plants for the adornment of the home grounds 
or of parks; and it is not difficult to grow, as the 
exquisite shrubs in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, 
hear evidence. 
Phe wild azalea is another beauty of the wood¬ 
land that takes kindly to cultivation. The beauti¬ 
ful pink variety that blossoms before the leaves 
appear, has a peculiar Japanesque grace all its 
WHITE THORN {Cratagus coccinea) 
56 
