250 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



Camas sia — continued. 

 Leaves narrow, about 1ft. long, grooved down tlie inside. 

 They thrive best in a Rheitered, partiaUy-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 

 bo 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 seed 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. esculenta (edible).* Caniash or Qnamash. fl. lihie, about 

 2ui. acm^.s; racemes loose, ten to twenty-flowered, borne on stout 

 scapes: perianth six-cleft, the tive upper segments close together, 

 the sixth standin* by itself. Snmmer. I. linear, about 1ft. high. 

 Columbia, &c., 1857. The colour of the flowers varies from a deep 

 bhie to nearly white. I?ec Fig. 355. (B. R. 1486.) The white- 

 flowered form is figured in IJ. M. 2774, under the name of Scilla 

 esculenta Jlore albo. 

 C. e. Iieichtlinl (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, h. 2ft. Columbia, 1853. This also differs 

 from the type in its more robust habit and broader leaves. 

 Syn. Chloro<jahnn LekhtlinL (B. M. 6287.) 

 C. Fraseri (Eraser's).* fl'. pale blue, smaller than those of 

 C. escideiita ; pedicels and scape nnich more slender. I. narrow, 

 acute ; capsule more acutely angled, h. 1ft. Eastern States of 

 North America. A smaller and more slender plant. (B. M. 1574, 

 as Scilla esculenta. ) 



CAIMCBESSHDESIA (named after James Cambessedes, 

 eoadjutor of Auguste St. Hilaire, in his "Flora Brasilia 

 Meridionalis," and author of several botanical memoirs). 

 Ord. Melastomacece. 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 mixture, 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 (T'araguay). Jl. rose-red, §in. in diameter, in 

 terminal corymbose, glandular, Hairy panicles. July. I. nearly 

 lin, long, sessile, ovate, acute, three-nerved, pale gTeen, with 

 entire ciliate margins. Stem annual, herbaceous, leafy, h. lOin. 

 tolSin. 1880. (B. M. 6604.) 



CAIVEBIUIVI. The fornuxtive fluid found between the 

 bark and wood of Exogens, in spring. 



CAMBUY FRUIT. See Eugenia. 



CAMELIiIA (named in honour of George Joseph 

 Caniellus or Kamel, a Moravian Jesuit and traveller in 

 Asia, who wrote a history of the plants of the Isle of Luzon, 

 which is inserted in the third vol. of John Ray's " Historia 

 Plantarum"). Japanese Rose. Including Then Ord. 

 Termtni^miacea'. A genus of elcga it hardy or nearly 

 hardy evergreen shrubs or trees. Flowers large ; sepals 

 Ave or six, gradually passing from bracts into petals, 

 the latter slightly cohering at the base ; stamens numerous. 

 Leaves coriaceous. By close attention to a few parti- 

 culars in the management of these beautiful plants, much 

 disappointment may be avoided, and a succossion of flowers 

 obtained from October till the following July. The fact of 

 the buds frequently dropping off, det?rs many would-be 

 growers from attempting the culture of the Camellia. Dry- 

 ness of the atmosphere, and want of water at the roots, are 

 generally the primary causes of failure; the remedy for 

 these evils rott; with the cultivator. The roots are apt to 



Camellia — continued. 

 get matted together, compressing the earth around them 

 into a hard ball, impervious 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, when they should be removed 

 to a cold place, such as the back of a greenhouse, giving 

 them plenty of light. Those kept in a 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 tiU 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 Pa^ony-flowered, succeed in the bed or 

 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 green- 

 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. In a 

 few weeks afterwards, others may also be transferred, so 

 as to have a regular succession of flowering plants. 



Propagation. The red Camellias are generally propa- 

 gated by layers, but cuttings will also succeed ; the single 

 red Camellia being raised by either cuttings, layers, or 

 seeds. This latter forms suitable stocks on which to inarch 

 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 loam mixed with 

 *and and peat. The pans containing 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 September or October, the rooted plants will be fit 

 to pot off, and 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, cai'e 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 its 

 cracking. When independent grafting is resorted to, the 



