Camellia. 273 



plants, though several are sufficiently hardy for out-of- 

 door cultivation in or near the Gulf States, where they are 

 coming to be more freely planted from year to year, as 

 their merits are better appreciated. None of them can be 

 successfully grown in the North, but occasional specimens 

 are to be found in the Middle States under favorable 

 conditions and with slight protection. Mr. P. J. Berck- 

 mans of Augusta, Georgia, writes that " camellias abound 

 in all the southern cities, where some have reached to a 

 great size and have stood every extreme of heat and cold. 

 Beginning with the old alba plena, or double white, whose 

 flowers often open in November, we have a regular suc- 

 cession of floral harvest until April, and have the choice 

 of some two hundred varieties." The same authority says 

 that the best seasons for transplanting are from early Oc- 

 tober to the beginning of November, and from the end of 

 February to the end of March. 



C. japonica is most prominently noted among the spe- 

 cies as the common camellia, and is the type from which 

 has sprung a great number of varieties and hybrids now 

 widely distributed. Under the most favorable conditions, 

 it grows in somewhat tree form to a considerable size, and 

 is possessed of great beauty. The leaves are quite large, 

 ovate, sharp-pointed, serrated, and of good substance and 

 color. The blossoms are in numerous shades, and mostly 

 pink with yellow projecting stamens. It is a native of 

 China as well as of several other Asiatic countries. C. 

 japonica alba is much the same except in the color of its 

 petals which are of the purest white, contrasting strongly 

 with the bright yellow centres. The original forms are 



