ON THK CULTURE OF THE CAMELLIA, 129 



ARTICLE V. 

 ON THE CULTURE OF THE CAMELLIA. 



BY CLERICUS. 



The Camellia, is justly esteemed one of the finest, if not actually 

 the finest, of our exotics, and indeed, there are few of the beau- 

 teous denizens of the greenhouse and conservatory, that can lay 

 equal claim to our attention. Unlike most of its compeers, this 

 lovely genus, at all seasons, whether it be in blossom or not, 

 excites our admiration. During the summer and early winter 

 months, we are pleased with its bold and elegant form, and with 

 the deep glossy hue of its beautiful foliage ; whilst from Christ- 

 mas to May, the various varieties delight and charm by their fine 

 and showy flowers, of white, bufi', striped, and red, of every 

 shade, from the deep crimson to the soft tint of the maiden'* 

 blush. The Camellia may in truth be called, " the most beautiful 

 of the beautiful," for what, in the whole range of our exotic flora, 

 is more beautiful than a fine specimen of the Old Double White 

 having, perhaps, one or two do2ens of splendid blossoms fully ex- 

 panded? or what more delicate than the bloom of C. sasanqua, 

 now called C. maliflora? The Old Single Red, C. japonica ap- 

 pears to have been introduced into England, in the year 1739- 

 and according to Messrs. Chandler and Booth's Camellice the 

 Old Double White was brought to England in 1792, by Sir John 

 Slater, of the East India House, and the Old Double Red import- 

 ed in 1794, by Sir Robert Preston, of Vallyfield; since which 

 time many fine varieties have been imported from China and 

 many fine seedlings have also been raised in this country, within 

 the last few years, more particularly at the Vauxhall Nursery. The 

 names of one hundred and fifty, or one hundred and eighty varie- 

 ties, might now be collected from the various catalogues of the 

 London nurserymen, but nearly two-thirds are unworthy of no- 

 tice, and many are mere repetitions of each other. • 



Stocks, upon which to inarch, graft, or bud, the double sorts, 

 are obtained from cuttings of the Single Red : the cuttings may be 

 taken at any period, after the wood of the present year is ripe. 

 They should be planted in pots of fine white sand, about forty or 

 fifty cuttings to a pot of eight inches in diameter ; the pots should 

 bo well drained, being nearly half filled with pieces of broken 

 pot. Two or three leaves should be left upon each cutting, at 

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