AND GENERAL HOETICULTURE. 



67 



CAL 



moss ; the flowers appear as soon as the snow 

 naelts in spring. 



Calyste'gia. Bracted Bindweed. From kalyx, a 

 calyx, and stega, a covering; in reference to 

 the calyx being hid by two bracts, as is the 

 case with a section of Bindweeds. Nat. Ord. 

 Convolvulaceoe. 



This somewhat extensive genus includes 

 our common hedge Convolvulus, but only a 

 few species are considered interesting. C. 

 pubescens, from China, a hardy double-flowered 

 variety, is useful as a screen, or for covering 

 unsightly places, the chief objection to it 

 being its tendency to get beyond control. 

 Propagated by division of root in spring. 



Calyx. The most external of the floral en- 

 velopes; it is called adherent or superior 

 when it is not separate from the ovary ; free 

 or inferior when it is separate from that part ; 

 and calyculate when it is surrounded at the 

 base by bracts in a ring. 



Camaro'tis. From camara, an arched roof ; in 

 reference to the form of the lip or labellum. 

 Nat. Ord. OrchidaceoR. 



A small genus of East Indian and Brazilian 

 Orchids, bearing pale rose flowers, with yellow 

 lip, produced on pendulous racemes in March 

 and April. Tliey require a warm, moist house, 

 and need but little rest. They are increased 

 by division. Introduced in 1818. Syn. Sarco- 

 chilus. 



Cama'ssia. Wild Hyacinth. From quamash, so 

 called by Indians, who eat the bulbs. Nat. 

 Ord. LiliacecB. 



Allied to the Scilla or Squill. C. esculenta re- 

 sembles the common blue Hyacinth, but is 

 larger, its leaves being about a foot long, very 

 narrow, and grooved down the inside. Its 

 flower stalks grow from one to two feet high, 

 and bear large, showy purple flowers. This 

 plant grows in moist grounds from the Mis- 

 sissippi River to tlie Pacific Ocean, and its 

 bulbs form a staple food of the Indians, the 

 different tribes visiting the plains for the pur- 

 pose of collecting them, immediately after the 

 plant has flowered. The occasion is one of 

 their feasts, in which the women take an im- 

 portant part, as the labor of digging devolves 

 entirely upon them. The unmarried females 

 endeavor to excel each other in the quantity 

 they collect, their fame as future good wives 

 depending upon their activity upon the Qua- 

 mash plains. The roots are cooked by digging 

 a hole in the ground and paving it with large 

 stones, upon which a fire is lighted and kept 

 up until they are red hot, when they are 

 covered with alternate layers of branches and 

 roots till the hole is full. It is then covered 

 with earth, and a fire kept burning upon it for 

 twenty-four hours, when the roots are taken 

 out, dried, or pounded into cakes for future 

 use. 



Cambium. The viscid fluid which appears 

 between the bark and wood of Exogens, when 

 the new wood is forming. 



Came'llia. Named in honor of George Joseph 

 Kamel, or Camellus, a Moravian Jesuit and 

 Eastern traveler. Nat. Ord. TernstroEmiacem. 



This well-known genus is so closely allied 

 to the tea family as to be distinguished from 

 it with great difficulty, the great difference 

 being in the number of parts and position 

 of the flower. The number of true species 



CAM 



of this splendid genus is very limited, not 

 exceeding six or seven, and only one or two 

 of them are thought worth cultivation, except 

 for botanical purposes. The hundreds of 

 beautiful varieties which grace our collections, 

 possessing at once the most rich and vivid 

 colors in their flowers, and the noblest gran- 

 deur in the whole aspect of the plants, fully 

 compensate for this scarcity of species, and 

 leave us little to desire that may not reason- 

 ably be expected from the same skill and per- 

 severance which have already produced such 

 splendid results. C. Japonica may be regarded 

 as the parent of the whole race of cultivated 

 Camellias. It is a native of China and Japan, 

 where it attains the altitude of a tree, and is 

 much employed by the natives of those 

 countries in decorating their gardens. Camel- 

 lias delight in an even temperature, rapid 

 fluctuation being injui'ious at any season, and 

 the same regular and equable amount of both 

 light and moisture should prevail for the 

 whole year, that in effect the difference 

 between the summer and winter seasons may 

 be lessened as far as practicable For this 

 purpose the plant should be kept in summer 

 in a cool green-house, moderately shaded 

 from the sun. When the plants are in a grow- 

 ing state they require abundance of water, 

 both at the roots and over the leaves. After 

 making their growth, and setting their flower- 

 buds, they require less attention than at any 

 other period. Moderate supplies of water and 

 a situation as cool as can be afforded without 

 danger of frost or nipping currents of air are 

 best. About the middle of March is the com- 

 mencement of the ordinary growing season, 

 when a higher temperature and plenty of water 

 to the roots should be given them. Potting 

 should be done when the greatest benefit will 

 be conferred on the prospective shoots, which 

 will be before the roots have made much pro- 

 gress, or as soon after blooming as may be. A 

 distinction in the quality of soil to be used 

 should be made in accordance with the state 

 of each plant, bearing in mind that they grow 

 much stronger in loam, but do not usually 

 produce flowers so freely, and vice versa for 

 healthy specimens; and under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances an addition of leaf mould seems 

 most advisable, introducing a small propor- 

 tion of sand, and using the soil quite rough. 

 At this time it should be determined at what 

 period the plants will be required to bloom in 

 the ensuing season, whether early or late, to 

 accord with which the plants may be either 

 forced or retarded. They will bear almost 

 any amount of heat while growing, but after 

 the formation of the flower-buds it must be 

 withheld, as the slightest application then, 

 instead of hastening their development, will 

 infallibly cause them to fall off. Hence, the 

 only way to "force" Camellias into early 

 flowering in fall and winter is to keep them at 

 a high temperature while growing in spring. 

 A temperature of about 65" is the most proper 

 for such as are desired to flower in the follow- 

 ing winter ; 45° or 50° will be sufficient for the 

 next, or those which may be said to bloom 

 naturally, while the portion required to fur- 

 nish flowers for the late spring months should 

 be placed out of doors. This treatment must 

 be continued until the new growths are com- 

 pleted, and the incipient flower-buds can be 

 discovered, when a cool, shaded situation 



