250 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Camassia—continued. 
Leaves narrow, about 1ft. long, grooved down the inside. 
They thrive best in a sheltered, partially-shaded situation, 
but will do fairly well in almost any ordinary good garden 
soil. A compost of loam and leaf mould, with a liberal 
mixture of sharp sand, suits them best. They need not 
be disturbed for several years; but a top-dressing of rich 
soil or well-rotted manure may be given yearly. Propa- 
gated by offsets and seeds. The plants are so hardy that 
they ripen seeds in warm situations. These may be sown 
as soon as ripe, or the following spring, either in a warm 
situation out of doors, or in pots or boxes, under glass. The 
young plants make rapid progress, and should remain for 
at least two years in the see beds. The best time for 
final transplanting is in February. Offsets are produced 
very freely, and should be removed either when in a dor- 
mant condition, or just previously to starting into fresh 
growth, and arranged in clumps or lines, placing a little 
sand about them. , , 
C. e enta (edible).* Jl. blue, about 2in. across ; raceme loose, 
ten to twenty-flowered, borne on stout scapes; perianth six- 
cleft, the five upper segments close together, the sixth standing 
by itself, Summer. 1, linear, about lft. high. Columbia, &c., 
1837. The colour of the flowers varies from a deep blue to nearly 
white. See Fig. 335. (B. R. 1486.) The white-flowered form is 
Pigg in B. M. 2774, under the name of Scilla esculenta flore 
C. e. Leichtlini (Leichtlin’s).* Jl. creamy-white, larger than 
those of the type, with more numerous nerves in the keel of 
the segments of the perianth; racemes longer, and sometimes 
compound, Spring. Ah. 2ft. Columbia, 1853. This also differs 
-from the type in its more robust habit and broader leaves. 
Syn. Chlorogalum Leichtlini. (B. M. 6287.) 
C. Fraseri (Fraser’s).* A pale blue, smaller than those of 
C. esculenta ; pedicels and scape much more slender. J, narrow, 
acute; capsule more acutely angled. h. lft. Eastern States of 
North America. A smaller and more slender plant. (B. M. 1574, 
as Scilla esculenta.) 
CAMBESSEDESIA (named after James Cambessedes, 
coadjutor of Auguste St. Hilaire, in his “Flora Brasiliæ 
Meridionalis,” and author of several ‘botanical memoirs). 
ORD. Melastomacee. A genus of elegant, erect, or ascend- 
ing, dichotomously branched stove shrubs or herbaceous 
plants. Flowers terminal and axillary, in paniculate 
cymes; petals five, obovate; calyx bell-shaped. Leaves 
sessile, opposite or verticillate, obovate, oblong or linear. 
They thrive best in a compost of peat and sand. Propa- 
gated by half-ripened cuttings, which root freely in a 
similar mixturde if placed in heat and under a hand 
glass. There are about eight species known to science, 
but probably that mentioned below is the only. one in 
cultivation. 
C. paraguayensis (Paraguay). 7. rose-red, Zin. in diameter, in 
terminal corymbose, glandular, hairy panicles. July. 2. nearly 
_ lin, long, sessile, o¥ate, acute, three-nerved, pale green, with 
ciliate margins. Stem annual, herbaceous, leafy. A. 10in. 
1gin. 1880. (B. M. 6604.) 
f The formative fluid found between the 
FRUIT. See Eugenia. 
(named in honour of George Joseph 
Moravian Jesuit and gion in 
the plants of the Isle of Luzon, 
tiia 
of these beautiful plants, a good deal of disappointmen: 
be avoided, and a regular succession of Diets obtained 
from October till the following July. The fact of the buds 
frequently dropping off, deters many would-be growers from 
attempting the culture of the Camellia. Dryness of the 
p , and want of water at the roots, are generally 
the primary causes of failure; the remedy for these evils, 
~ OÊ course, rests with the cultivator. The roots are apt to 
ER 
Camellia—continued. 
get matted together, compressing the earth around them 
into a hard ball, impervions to water; hence attention is 
necessary to see that the water -poured into the pot 
thoroughly moistens all the soil. In order to form hand- 
some plants, they should be trained with single stems to 
rods, and pruned, so as to make them throw out side 
branches from every part of the stem; they must not be 
placed too close to each other.on the stage, or when planted 
out. A liberal supply of water is always necessary, but 
especially so during the flowering period. Plants that are 
required to flower early’may remain in the warm house till 
they commence to blossom, whén they should be removed 
to a cold place, such as the back of a greenhouse, giving 
them plenty of light. Those kept ina hothouse or vinery 
during summer, will flower in the beginning or middle of 
October; and a large plant, having from fifty to one 
hundred buds, will continue in flower till the month of” 
January. Those that are removed early, will blossom in 
January, and so succeed the others. The plants that have 
finished flowering should be brought back to the hothouse, 
where they will begin to make new wood, and be ready to 
come in succession next season. By thus shifting the 
plants from a warm to a cold situation, a regular succes- 
sion will be secured from October to July. ‘The soil 
should’ be kept constantly moist, and in the summer 
months. the leaves occasionally syringed. Camellias 
flower best when kept in small pots or tubs. In order to 
raise and exhibit these handsome plants to the best ad- 
vantage, they should be grown in a separate house, of 
ample height, as they never look so well as when 6ft. or 
8ft. high, trained in a conical form, with branches from 
the root upwards; and the plants should be raised near to 
the glass on a movable stage, which should be lowered as 
they grow. In summer, they may either be placed in the 
open air in a sheltered spot, or the glass roof of the house 
can be taken off. The hardier sorts, such as the Double- 
red, Blush, and Pxony-flowered, succeedvin the bed-om— =" 
border of a conservatory, if the roof can be taken off in 
summer, so as to admit air. If this cannot be managed, 
they are better grown in portable pots or boxes. The most 
suitable time for shifting Camellias is directly after flower- 
ing; they should then be put into a vinery or hothouse, 
where there is a little heat; or the warmest part of a gréen- _ 
house. They will soon begin to make new wood, where 
they should be allowed to remain, amply supplied with 
water, till they form their flower buds, at the extremity and 
sides of the young growth. A few should then be removed 
to a cold place, and shaded during strong sunshine. Ina 
few weeks afterwards, others may also be transferred, 80 — 
as to have a regular succession of flowering plants." 
Propagation. The red Camellias are i 
e 
red Camellia being raised by either cuttings, or 
seeds, This latter forms suitable stocks on which to mare! 
or graft the rarer kinds. The ripened shoots of the pre- 
ceding summer should be taken Off in August, cutting them 
smoothly at a joint or bud. Two or three of the lower 
leaves should be taken off, and the cuttings planted firmly ~ 
in the soil with a dibble. Some growers use peat earth and 
sand to strike in, while" others prefer a loom mixed with 
sand and peat. The pans contaimuin; the cuttings should be — 
kept in a plant,or cold frame, without being covered with 
glasses, but shaded during powerful sunshine. In the 
following” spring, such as have struck will begin to push, 
‘when they need to be placed in a gentle heat. The fol- 
lowing 3 or October, the rooted plants will be fit 
to pot off, aid in the second or third spring they may be - 
used as stocks. Inarching or grafting is done in early 
spring, as soon as growth commences. When this process 
is completed, care must be taken to fix the pot containing 
the stock so that it may not be disturbed during the con- 
nection of the scion with the parent plant. The grafting — 
being clayed over, is then covered with moss, to prevent it8 =. 
cracking. When independent grafting is resorted to, the 
* 
enact’ ic 4 y 
gated by layers, but cuttings will also suc ngs, hay sir ee 
4 
