56 CAMELLIA JAPONICA. 



ourselves, we believe the question is unimportant, and may be left to the convenience 

 of the amateur ; at no intermediate period, however, should the roots be disturbed ; 

 it must be either before any active growth occurs, or not until after its completion. 

 In the latter case, this will be about the month of August, when the plant has 

 already been exposed for a few weeks to open-air influences. 



The soil best suited to the Camellia is a fibrous loam, such as would be 

 produced by the decay of turves from a good pasture; but any loam of a 

 friable mellow character may be used : for old, strong plants, it may be employed 

 in an unmixed state ; but for young plants, a third of sandy peat or heath- 

 mould should be added, and the same compost may also be successfully adopted 

 in all cases; some eminent cultivators are of opinion that they flower most 

 freely in peat and loam. If the peat does not contain a considerable proportion 

 of sand, a handful or two should be added to the compost. The pot in which 

 it is intended to transfer the plant should, if possible, be new, or at least 

 perfectly clean, and a size larger than the old one; at the bottom over the 

 opening one good hollow crook should be laid, around it a number of smaller 

 ones, and over these half an inch of fragments of the size of large peas ; to 

 prevent the particles of soil from filling up and obstructing the drainage, a 

 kiyer of moss may then be arranged over it. The plant should next be removed 

 from its previous receptacle, and the old drainage fragments taken off the ball 

 of earth ; the roots should then be carefully examined, and any of them which 

 appear black and decayed pruned off; a little of the surface of the soil should 

 also be carefully pared away if the plant has not been repotted the previous 

 autumn, otherwise this will be unnecessary, except at the top of the ball. 

 The plant may then be placed in its new pot with fresh soil beneath and 

 around it, taking care to maintain the stem in a perpendicular position, and 

 the collar of the plant at its previous level.* After repotting, it may be 

 allowed to remain in open air until frost becomes possible, that is to say, 

 about the end of September. "We have named the month of August as the 

 best for repotting, but a later period may be chosen without any bad results, 

 especially for those intended to flower in March or April. In either case, 

 from the end of September, their proper place, in the absence of a cold frame, 

 will be a room of cool, equable temperature, for the Camellia will not endure 

 sudden changes, and any attempt to accelerate the expansion of the flower-buds, 

 by removing it at this stage to a warm apartment, will cause the buds to drop. 



This naturally leads us to the remark that early flowers, generally so much 

 coveted in the case of the Camellia, can only be obtained by stimulating the 



* Tn the care of large plauts annual potting may be dispensed with; it will be sufficient to top-dress them 

 with a little fresh soil, which should contain a portion of decayed manure. The drainage must, however, be 

 ample. 



