i8 7 o.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 237 



the Lassianthus Kusselliana is too old. It, however, may yet vegetate. Cover 

 the top of the pot with a sheet of glass, and keep it in a moist stove or dung- 

 frame. The compost you have used is perfectly suitable. When the plants come 

 up, inure them to light and,' air gradually. Let them grow in the seed-pot till 

 they have four leaves, then prick them off into a pan, in compost of equal parts 

 light-yellow loam, peat, leaf-mould, and silver-sand, and shade for a time, paying 

 attention to watering. When they are, say, such plants as a shilling will just 

 cover, pot them singly in 60's, keep them still in a warm frame, then into 48's, 

 and harden them off by degrees, till in September they can be placed on a dry 

 shelf in the greenhouse, where they may stand till March. See that their foliage 

 never gets wet, else they will drop off at the neck. In March, place them in a 

 dung-frame with mild genial heat. When they start into growth, both above and 

 below ground, shift them, still in the same compost ; and when fit shift again, 

 till they are in 8 or 9 inch pots, where they should flower well in a stove. By 

 such treatment we have, thirty years ago, grown plants with 300 blooms on them, 

 and as freely as Balsams. There is no plant more deserving of cultivation; yet 

 it is nearly out of cultivation. 



A New Subscriber. — Calendars of forcing operations have been so hackneyed 

 that we gave them up ; but, to meet your views and some others, we will enter- 

 tain the idea of beginning another year with one of a very complete and compre- 

 hensive character. 



Camellia Buds Dropping. — In giving a reply to a correspondent under this 

 heading, in page 143 of our March number, we alluded to the condition of some 

 Camellias We had seen " in the greenhouse of an amateur cultivator of plants in 

 the neighbourhood of London." This gentleman, who does not desire that his 

 name should be given, has written to us relative to his mode of managing his 

 Camellias, and we think what he has stated worthy of being published. He 

 writes : — " I see in the ' Gardener ' you have spoken of my success in the culture 

 of the Camellia, but as what you there state is only half the secret, I will tell you 

 also the remainder. It must be obvious to all who ever potted a Camellia, that it 

 is not a plant requiring a large amount of nutritious matter at the root, as in 

 nine cases out of ten it is apt to get quite soddened at the lower portion of the 

 ball of earth ; or, in other words, the plant has had given to it more than it is 

 able to digest, for this is really what it amounts to. If a Fuchsia were potted in 

 a similar way, the whole of the under portion of the soil would become a mass of 

 roots, and evidently thoroughly digest the soil, if such a term may be used. 

 The Camellia has, comparatively, very few roots, and they never attain any great 

 length, though they delight in getting into the drainage below, thus showing that 

 it prefers a loose open soil to grow in, otherwise the roots would remain in the 

 soil above. The fact is, the roots are of such a nature that they were not formed 

 to penetrate a soddened mass of earth, and, indeed, are not capable of doino- so. 

 The soil best suited to the Camellia is a peaty loam, or a loamy peat, whichever 

 you please — the former such as is obtained from Epping Forest ; the latter 

 from some place near Twickenham. The turf, or peat, should be cut 3 

 inches in thickness, and when cut should, as soon as possible, be subjected to a 

 partial charring, as recommended for the vine-border. The turf should not be 

 broken small, but be used in as large pieces as possible. If old peat or loam is 

 used, it should be kept open by means of small pieces of charcoal, and the same 

 should be used as drainage, which will tend to give the beautiful dark foliage so 

 much and deservedly admired. My house is not suitable for the Camellia. A 

 house most advantageous to the growth of this plant is one facing north, as the 



