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SOME NOTES ON RHODODENDRON ARBOREUM AND ITS CULTURE 
IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 
Contributed by Lieut.-Commander J. G. Millais. 
It is probable that many Englishmen of the old ‘‘ John Company ” saw and 
admired this species in the wonderful forests of tree rhododendrons in the Sikkim 
Himalayas and the Neilgherries before an English Officer sent seeds home to the 
botanist Smith. 
There seems to be no record of what Smith did with his consignment of seed, 
but it is certain that Wallich sent seed to Mr. Shepherd, of Liverpool, in 1814, 
and from this seed numerous plants were raised in conservatories, and these in 
time were distributed. A fresh consignment came from Colonel Sykes to 
Edinburgh about the year 1830, and plants were sent to Singleton, Swansea, 
which formed a fresh centre of distribution in Wales. It was, however, mainly 
owing to the efforts and explorations of Sir Joseph Hooker (1849-1860), that 
English gardens owe the abundance of this species in Western England and 
Scotland. 
In all the mild moist-laden atmosphere of certain parts of the Western 
counties of England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, where the soil is suitable, 
Rh. arboreum and all its numerous varieties form one of the backbones of any 
collection of flowering trees and shrubs ; and where it is happy, and a choice 
selection of the best varieties is used, it wiU give a continuous pageant of bloom 
from late January to mid April. In these localities it is a plant of surpassing 
beauty, ease of culture, and noble port, even when out of flower. Cornish 
gardens alone owe much of their success to this fine species, which in very suitable 
localities seeds itself with some freedom. 
Curiously enough the finest plantations of Rh. arboreum which I have seen 
are not situated in this county, but in the somewhat wind-swept coast line of 
Western Wigtownshire. Some seventy years ago the great grandfather of the 
present Earl of Stair met Sir Joseph Hooker in London, and invited him to 
visit his home in the North. Sir Joseph was delighted with what he saw there, 
and at once observed the suitability of the place with its peaty soil and mild 
climate for Himalayan Rhododendrons. 
He advised extensive planting of Rh. arboreum. The Earl of Stair obtained 
seed and raised an immense number of seedlings which in a few years he planted 
out in the grounds. To-day there are no less than seventy acres devoted to 
shrubs and trees, and the majority of these are Rh. arboreum, interspersed with 
a few other species, such as Rh. campanulatum, Rh. barbatum and Rh. 
Thomsoni. The sight of this immense garden in flower in April almost baffles 
description. 
The object of this short note, however, is not to appraise or study the effects 
which are gained by the use of this valuable rhododendron in the gardens where 
it is quite happy, but rather to offer some suggestion as to its size and treatment 
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