eason are
beneficial, particularly in the case of shrubs that have not been
re-potted, as the limited amount of nourishment in the soil will have
gone by that time.

The following is a list of the best shrubs for flowering under glass:--

ANDROMEDA (known also as Pieris and Zenobia).--The Andromedas are
beautiful shrubs, with lily-of-the-valley-like flowers, and form such a
mass of fibrous roots that they can be lifted from the open ground and
potted without receiving any check. When placed in a cool house they
flower profusely. The best are _A. floribunda_, which has crowded,
somewhat stiff spikes; _A. japonica_, known by its drooping racemes; and
_A. speciosa pulverulenta_, which has hoary leaves and waxy-white bells.
The first two may be had in flower by the end of March, but the other is
later.

AZALEA.--One of the useful classes of shrubs that we have for this
purpose, quite as valuable for hard forcing as for flowering later in
spring. Although the formation of the roots is dense and wig-like, they
are, as already stated, all the better for being potted early, while
they may be permanently grown in pots in a satisfactory way. The Chinese
_A. sinensis_, or _mollis_, as it is more popularly called, is of close
and compact growth, with massive clusters of large flowers, varying in
colour from pale yellow to deep orange salmon, and innumerable tints and
shades. Among the most beautiful are Alphonse Lavalle, bright orange;
Anthony Koster, deep yellow; Dr. Pasteur, orange red; General Vetten,
orange; Hugo Koster, salmon red; and J. J. de Vink, soft rose. The
varieties grouped under the head of Ghent Azaleas are very beautiful,
and quite as suitable for forcing as the preceding. The individual
flowers are smaller, but they are borne in such profusion that the whole
plant is a mound of blossom. The colour varies from white, through all
shades of yellow, orange, pink, rose, and scarlet, to bright crimson, so
that plenty of variety is available, and some forms have double flowers.
These are not so showy as the single Azaleas. Azaleas, when planted out,
require a certain amount of peat or other vegetable matter in the soil,
and this is even more important when they are grown in pots. A suitable
compost consists of equal parts of loam, leaf-mould, and peat, with half
a part of sand. Very little pruning is needful, and this to consist only
of shortening an occasional shoot that threatens to upset the balance
of the plant, a