274 Ornamental Shrubs. 



now seldom found in cultivation either in the garden or 

 conservatory, as some of the varieties are much'superior. 

 It would be useless to attempt to describe in detail the 

 almost numberless forms produced through natural proc- 

 esses, and by the hybridizers who have turned their atten- 

 tion in this direction. There are varieties with double 

 and single flowers, and almost every possible shade of 

 color, and the number is increasing every year. It is 

 claimed that there is no plant that will afford such a wealth 

 of bloom extended over so long a time as the camellia, 

 and the claim appears to be pretty well founded. It is 

 essentially a winter-blooming plant, and among all the 

 broad-leaved evergreens is one of the best. It is a pity 

 that only a narrow fringe of our territory is capable of 

 producing the camellias in the open ground. 



ITEA. 



THE iteas belong to the order Saxifragacece, and are 

 very little known in cultivation. Though the 

 genus contains only five species, it is distributed 

 freely throughout the United States, China, Japan, the 

 Himalayas, and some of the islands within the tropics. 

 One form only is of interest to us, and that has recently 

 been rescued from the long list of neglected plants so 

 many of which are now coming into notice. The botanists 

 call it Itea virginica, and so far as known this is the one 

 species looked upon with favor in the parks and gardens. 

 It grows to a height of five to eight feet, and has alternate 

 leaves, oblong, pointed, and minutely serrate, changing 

 from green to scarlet-crimson in midsummer, and retain- 



