THE CAMELLIA JAPONICA. 



219 



(which is where the root begins) near the 

 top of the pot; spread the roots out evenly 

 and fill up, pressing the soil about the fibrfis 

 and bringing the compost nearly to the level 

 of the pot ; well water, and plunge the pot 

 into a moderate bottom heat, and cover with 

 a bell or hand glass. Although it may be 

 directly after they have completed their first 

 growth, this will start them again, and they 

 will make another season of wood, even in 

 time to flower, if it were desirable ; but 

 generally speaking, the object of an ama- 

 teur and that of a florist are widely different. 

 The nurseryman or florist wants to multiply 

 his stock ps soon as possible, and therefore 

 makes all the wood he can. The amateur 

 desires to get a handsome plant as soon as 

 possible, and that does not depend on the 

 quantity so much as the form of the wood. 

 Supposing then we have two of these mise- 

 rable little plants repotted as we have di- 

 rected, the one we leave to grow as fast as 

 it will; the other we will suppose to have 

 not more than two or three eyes. As soon 

 as the buds begin to swell after the repot- 

 ting, unless it is bidding fair to grow hand- 

 some, take out the top bud, or shorten the 

 shoot to two or three eyes, but if the shoot 

 already made indicates a disposition to 

 grow handsome and throw lateral branches, 

 leave all on, and as they grow, merely no- 

 tice that no unhandsome growth be made, 

 by stopping any joint that grows the wrong 

 way or out of shape. The proper form for 

 the plant is a well regulated bush, or a 

 handsome standard ; we are now directing 

 for the bush. The plants are to be watered 

 rather liberally while growing, and when 

 they are advancing pretty fast let the ball 

 be turned out, to see if the roots have 

 reached the side of the pot, and, before 

 they begin to mat or cross each other, care- 

 fully shift them to a larger pot with the 

 same compost, and return them to their 

 place ; they ought not to be ehecked in 

 their growth, therefore the greatest care 

 must be taken not to disturb the ball of 

 earth or damage the roots, and the collars 

 of the plants must not be sunk into the 

 compost the least shade lower than they 

 were before. Continue the watering while 

 the growth goes on, but when there ceases 

 to be any more leaves coming, and the fo- 

 liage there is grown to its full size, they 



may first be lifted out of the plunging me- 

 dium and placed on their own bottom ; 

 next, they may be removed close to the 

 glass, and be shaded from the sun ; next, 

 to the green-house, still shaded ; afterwards 

 to a cold frame or pit ; all of which time 

 they are to have little or no water. This 

 has so far saved a whole season of growth, 

 and perhaps saved the plant altogether, for, 

 as we have before observed, the}' do occa- 

 sionally come so miserably weak, that be- 

 fore the growing season they would some- 

 times perish. The plants so pushed into 

 second growth require care to ripen their 

 wood, and ought not to be placed in the 

 open air until this is effected. Cold winds, 

 rain and damp, would be much against 

 them, therefore there is no contrivance 

 better adapted for them, until the wood is 

 ripened, than a common cold frame or pit, 

 which may be closed partly or altogether 

 as wet or wind may render it necessary. 

 When the wood is thoroughly ripened, it 

 may be thrown more open to the weather, 

 and up to September may be on a shady 

 border. The plants will occasionally, even 

 with such second growth, be found set for 

 bloom at the end of each shoot. If you 

 are still anxious for growth instead of bloom, 

 pick off the buds at once, for the plant stirs 

 but little all the time the buds are swelling 

 and the flowers blooming. In short, two 

 complete growths may be had by taking 

 off the buds, if there be any, and placing 

 the plants in the green-house. But it may 

 be that the pots are full of roots, and this 

 must be looked to now and then, by turn- 

 ing out the ball and examining them, for 

 the best rule for shifting plants is to do it 

 when the fibres begin to meet next the 

 pot. In the new growth, which will begin 

 much sooner from having no bloom, the 

 same watchfulness as to handsome form 

 must be observed, except where the growth 

 alone is wanted for stock, because in that 

 case it matters not where it comes ; the 

 object is to get as many buds or joints as 

 possible. It is not to be forgotten, too, 

 that the growth would be still accelerated 

 by increasing the temperature, for which 

 purpose the propagator will even submit 

 the plant to the coolest part of the stove, or 

 place it in a propagating house, which is 

 always kept at a much higher temperature 



