Every one has either heard or read of Dr. Hooker's discoveries of Rhododen-drons, in the Himalayas. So very beautiful are they, that the Doctor's journey would have been amply repaid had he found no other novelties. The desire to own these amongst our enthusiastic amateurs is so strong, that in many cases no sum would be considered too great for the favor of being allowed to possess the coveted treasure. Many of the species already exist in our collections, and we have no doubt from their rare beauty, they will in a few years be as common as the R. Arboreum. The greatest misfortune is, that they will probably not prove hardy with us; though it seems rather playful in the country which has already given us a hardy Deodar, Morinda, and others, to keep back from us one hardy Rhododendron. As soon as they become common enough to risk, we trust some of our cultivators will see to this matter. In the meantime, we are sure our readers will thank us for placing before them an opportunity to judge for them-selves, of the value of these plants. We may, however, remark that the illustration given, will go very little towards giving an idea of the other kinds; as they are unusually varied in the form and color of their flowers, as well as in their foliage, and general appearance.

We append Sir W. Hooker's remarks on the present subject: -

"Next to R. Dalhousioe, this is perhaps the noblest of the Sikkim Rhododendrons which rewarded Dr. Hooker's researches in Northern India. Its flowers are nearly as large as in that species; fragrant, very much in general form and size resembling the white Day Lily (Lilium Candidum), but the Corolla is delicately tinged with rose. Fine as is the original figure of the author above quoted, it is quite equalled by our flowering specimens at Kew, which were in perfection in May and June of 1854, in a cool and shaded greenhouse. The large delicate flowers contrast well with the ample dark-green foliage, which is rusty beneath, and has deep red petioles. It is a rare species in its native mountains, only found in the inner ranges of Sikkim Himalaya, in thickets by the Lachen and Lachoong rivers, at Choongtam, at an elevation of six thousand feet above the level of the sea. We cannot venture to consider it a hardy plant. The species, Dr. Hooker says, is named in compliment to Major Madden, of the Bengal Civil Service, - a good and accomplished botanist, to whose learned memoirs on the plants of the temperate and tropical zones of north-west Himalaya, the reader may be referred for an excellent account of the vegetation of those regions.

The same gentleman's paper on the Coniferae of the north of India may be quoted as a model of its kind".