i^fjobobrnbron ^ocietp 
In all these hybrids the influence of one or more parents is apparent. Yellow 
were obtained by using R. flavum, intense orange with R. calendulaceum, 
honeysuckle-like flowers with R. viscosum, full whites with R. arborescens, 
pinks with R. nudiflorum and probably R. molle, and size of flowers with 
R. MOLLE. 
When all is said it is a questionable matter if any of these hybrids exceeded 
in beauty the pure species, such as R. calendulaceum or R. molle. In flaming 
orange the varieties “ William III.,” “ ne plus ultra,” and “ gloria mundi ” 
are perhaps as fine as the first-named, but none of the modern Ghent Azaleas 
surpass in richness of colour or in size of flowers the varieties of R. molle known 
as ‘‘Alphonse La Vallee (scarlet-orange), J. C. Van Tol ” (deep-red) and 
” Mrs. L. J. Endtz ” (deep yellow). 
The most industrious of the Belgian firms between the years 1836-1870, were 
Cassel, Verschaffelt, Van Houtte, and Vuylsteke, and these continued their 
activity up to the date of the Great War (1914), when most of the original 
members of those firms had long since passed away. 
It is doubtful as to who first used the American R. occidentale (A. 
occiDENTALis), SO as to get large white or cream varieties with a yellow blotch. 
Those of us who are gardeners know well how ‘‘ kittle ” the true species is under 
cultivation. It grows slowly or only occasionally flowers. Doubtless our 
predecessors grasped this fact and were as anxious as ourselves to evolve hybrids 
with the floriferousness of the “ Ghent Azaleas ” with the pure qualities of the 
R. OCCIDENTALE flowers. The first worker we can trace with certainty was 
Isaac Davies, of Ormskirk, who produced the charming sweet-scented h 5 '^brid 
known as A. ‘‘ Daviesi,” a plant that is still popular in our gardens. He raised 
many such hybrids with R. occidentale strain and also others of the 
R. ” Broughtoni aureum ” class, most of which are unfortunately now lost 
to cultivation. 
A long pause seemed to have taken place before any other nurseryman 
attempted to work with R. occidentale as a parent. About the year 1880 
Mr. Anthony Waterer (of Knap Hill), who has il his life made a speciality of 
improving the ” Ghent ” Azaleas on lines of his own, introduced an R. 
OCCIDENTALE strain. At first his efforts met with little success, but by constantly 
selecting the best and recrossing back to the pure species he has now evolved a 
line of white large-flowered hybrids with yellow blotch that are in every way as 
fine or better than the true species. It only requires a visit to his extensive 
nurseries in the early part of June to prove the truth of this assertion. Mr. 
Anthony Waterer too has now brought the creation of hybrid Azaleas to such a 
pitch of perfection, far surpassing all but a few of the very best of the old 
‘‘ Ghents ” that it seems as if he had reached a finality in what we can expect in 
a hardy garden hybrid Azalea. White, red, orange, tinted hose-in-hose of 
various colours are there in abundance, whilst at present only a few very large 
pure pinks have been achieved, but of these he will probably have a sufficient 
stock in a few years. His strain of pure scarlets too are not to be seen in any 
other nursery, and these were achieved by constant crossing and recrossing of 
R. CALENDULACEUM with R. MOLLE. Mr. Anthony Waterer has never exhibited 
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