392 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. I'AKT Hi. 



proved to be tliis spL'cies, which liad liccn before 



unknown to botanists. It forms a ditilise bushy 



phuit, with liairy l)ranches, obovate, acuminate, 



hcrrateil leaves, and small neat white flowers, 



never exj)anding fully, but in size resembling 



those of a Tliia. It is inferior in showiness to 



any of the previously known camellias ; but 



must be considered a subject of nuich interest 



to the cultivator, from its being one of the stocks 



employed by the Chinese in pro()agating the or- 

 namental S[)ecies of the genus. {Hurt. Trans.) 



This species is not much cultivated, because, though beautiful as an evergreen 



shrub, it is less so than the other sorts. It deserves a place, however, on 



the conservative wall, wherever the collection is extensive. 



Soil, Situation, and general jMnnogemcnt. The camellias will grow in any 

 free soil ; but a loam inclining to sand, enriched with leaf-mould or thoroughly 

 rotten dung, seems to suit them best. Most of the species and varieties seem 

 to prefer a situation somewhat shaded ; which, as we have already observed, 

 seen)s to be generally the case with evergreen plants having broad shining 

 leaves. For this reason, an east or west wall, or even a north wall, inclining 

 to the cast er vest, will be found preferable to a south wall for the more 

 lender sorts ; and for those which are to be treated as bushes, a situation in 

 the shrubbery or arboretum, where they will be shaded by tall trees during 

 the hottest part of the day, is desirable. 



Where there is ample space and a decided taste for the genus, a camellia 

 garden, containing all the species and varieties, might be formed in the following 

 manner. Choose a situation, either level, or having a west or south-east 

 as])ect; and enclose a circle, a (juarter of an acre in extent, with a 9-inch brick 

 wall, built hollow, and having holes about the size of the end of a brick at 3 ft 

 or 4 ft. apart, immediately under the cojiing, for the purpose of receiving rafters 

 for supporting a temporary roof of thatched hurdles or of boards. Against 

 both sides of this wall all the more tender sorts of camellia might be planted ; 

 and the interior of the area might be devoted to the hardier sorts, to the 

 green tea, and to other half-harily and evergreen shrubs from China and 

 .Japan, such as lUicium, Magn61/« fuscata, &c. Where a number of conserv- 

 ative gardens are to be placed together, the walls may be arranged in the form 

 of pentagons, by which means, as in the cells of the honey-bee, no space would 

 be lost. The form of the garden being either circular or |)entagonal, and the 

 walls being hollow, the latter need not be more than a brick in width, and they 

 may be c;u-ricd to the height of 10 ft., which will be sufficient. Being hollow, 

 they might all be heated l)y steam from one boiler, a small steam pi[)e being 

 conducted along their foundations. 



Genus II. 



.^rj 



7'HE'A L. The Tea Tree. Lin. St/st. Monadelphia Polyandria. 



Itlcniification. I.iii. (ieii., No. 668. ; Dec. Prod, 1. |>. 530. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 577. 

 Derivation. Alti-red from icha, the Chinese name for lea. 



(ren. C/iar., <Se. Cali/x of o sepal.s. Petals 5— 9, disposed in two or three 

 rows, cohering at the base. Stamens almost unconnected to the very base. 

 Anthers roundish. Slt)le trifid at the apex. Capsules of .3 almost dis- 

 tinct carpels, .'{-seeded ; the dissepiments are formed from the edges of the 

 valves bein;: bent inwards. Beautiful evergreen shrubs from China. {Don's 

 Mill., i. p.' ;^77.) The species, in general appearance, closely resemble 



