ON THE CtJLTURK OK THK CAMELLIA. 61 



this time looking better tliaii any inarched plants I have under my 

 charge, or that I see in other places, and they have grown very 

 near one foot higher each season from the time of potting them 

 off, and are also bushy. 



The plan I pursue in raising plants from cuttings is the follow- 

 ing : — In March I take off cuttings tliat are of the previous year's 

 growth; I cut each off straight through the shoot and exactly at its 

 j miction with the wood which is a year older. The cuttings I 

 insert in 24 sized pots, and place them close to the sides; the soil 

 I use is a sandy peat. I press the soil very fimi around each 

 cutting, particularly close to the stalk ; this- is necessary in order 

 to prevent air having access to the bottom ; for if admitted, it 

 hinders any callosity for roots forming. I i)lace bell glasses, 

 Hghtly pressed, over the cuttings, and plunge the pots about 

 half deep in a hot bed frame, the heat of the bed being only of 

 a moderate temperature, for if the heat be strong it often kills 

 the cuttings in a short time. I keep them there till I see that the 

 cuttings have pushed and completed their first giowth, I then 

 remove them to a vinery for winter protection. About the 

 end of January or eai-ly in Febniary I pot the cuttings off into 

 small pots, being careful to have an inch deep of broken potsherds 

 in each pot ; this allows water to pass off freely, which is very 

 essential to their subsequent flourishing. After potting, I place 

 them in heat from 65 to 70 degiees till about the end of May, 

 when I remove them into a greenhouse for the remainder of the 

 season ; their treatment in all respects afterwards is the same as 

 with my older plants. 



As before stated, it is my usual practice to force Camellias ; this 

 is done by taking into heat a few plants at each time, and thus I 

 keep up the blooming season from September to April. In con- 

 sequence of this mode of treatment, the time for repotting my old 

 plants is at various seasons ; I always attend to it as soon as the 

 flowering is over. If I find a plant having its roots matted around 

 the ball, I very carefully shake the ball of earth by striking the 

 bottom against the ground ; tliis causes the ends of tlic fibres to 

 loosen, and when repotted they are enabled speedily to strike into 

 the fresh soil. After potting, I place the plants in heat from fi-*) 

 to 70 degrees ; here I retain them till the flower buds are formed. 

 The house in which I jilacc them being a vinery, I frequently 



