CULTURE OF THE CAMELLIA. 



269 



view, and presents to the reader's mind a 

 brief record of the structure of the Lin- 

 nasan system of botany. If this is studied, 

 and perfectly comprehended^ further pro- 

 gress will be easy, as a considerable amount 

 of fundamental knowledge will have been 

 obtained, which may be most usefully ap- 

 plied. It is vastly agreeable to be able to 

 appreciate the various modifications of or- 

 ganization that connect one tribe of plants 



with another, and to understand the infi- 

 nite wisdom and beautiful simplicity of de- 

 sign, which are so visible in the vegeta- 

 ble world; the just appreciation of which, 

 through countless gradations of form, struc- 

 ture, and modes of existence, it should be 

 the constant aim of the botanist to demon- 

 strate. 



Wm. W. Valk, m. D. 



Flushing, L. I., Nov. 25, 1843. 



NOTES ON THE CULTURE OF THE CAMELLIA. 



BY NOEL J. BECAR, NEW-YORK. 



We have great pleasure in giving the fol- 

 lowing notes to the readers of the Horticul- 

 turist. 



They are Avritten by a noted amateur cul- 

 tivator, N. J. Becar, Esq., who has the 

 finest private collection of this superb plant, 

 both as regards number of varieties and 

 beauty of specimens, to be found in the 

 United States. 



The Camellia japonica has, indeed, been 

 the favorite plant of Mr. Becar for years. 

 His superb Camellia-house at Brooklyn, 100 

 feet long, and filled with specimens, so 

 admirably grown that they may be called 

 conservatory park-trees, when compared with 

 the ordinary ill-shaped /ores? growth of our 

 green-houses, presents, in midwinter, the 

 most glovving picture of exotic beauty that 

 it is possible to conceive. We counted, 

 last January, 120 flowers in bloom at once, 

 on a single plant of the Double White; and 

 there were many other sorts, scarcely less 

 remarkable for their unusual size and 

 beauty. 



To Mr. Becar's long devotion to this 

 tribe of plants; and his great sagacity as a 

 practical cultivator, we ascribe the remarka- 



ble perfection of his plants. Our readers 

 will observe that his directions are strikingly 

 simple, and free from the quackery of some 

 of the old-school cultivators. It is, how- 

 ever, the simplicity of experienced skill — 

 which knows what is really essential — that 

 simplicity, at once so rarely found, and so 

 valuable when found. Ed. 



Dear Sir — Although I have had con- 

 siderable experience in the culture of this 

 noble plant — the Camellia, yet my course 

 of culture is so very simple that I fear I 

 cannot impart much, if anything, that would 

 interest the readers of your excellent jour- 

 nal. As, in your request, however, you de- 

 sire "rough notes" of my mode of treat- 

 ment, I comply with pleasure, hoping that 

 you may be able to glean from my remarks 

 something that will interest the readers of 

 the Horticulturist. 



I will commence with the soil, as I deem 

 that a most important point, in the cultiva- 

 tion of the Camellia. 



About midsummer I procure, from an 

 old pasture or common, some rich loamy 

 soil, or rather sods, 1^ or 2 inches thick. 

 This I place in a heap, fully exposed to 



