in the neighborhood of New YorTc and Philadelphia. 243 



nia ; coruscans, as its name indicates, comes nearer to a scarlet, — a 

 color heretofore unknown in the Camellia, — than any we have ever 

 seen. Camellia Floyii, which we have before mentioned (p. 17), 

 will long perpetuate Mr. Floy's name, as one of the most successful 

 originators of seedlings, that have ever yet made the attempt. 



Mr. Floy is very successful in propagating his Camehias ; tliis he 

 does by grafting, rather than inarching ; the operation is performed 

 very near the surface of the soil in the pots, and the plants have the 

 appearance of seedlings, or those raised from cuttings, the place of 

 the unison of the scion with the stock being completely grown over 

 in one year, so as to deceive any but those who are acquainted with 

 the method. The operation is, we believe, performed in a method 

 little varying from that described in our last (p. 213, fig. 10) ; but 

 instead of using a portion of the terminal shoot, the whole is taken. 

 When the operation is finished, the plants are subjected to a gentle 

 bottom heat, which causes them to push rapidly, and make a large 

 and vigorous shoot the first season. Mr. Floy does not, however, 

 we think, manage his Camellias with that care we have observed 

 them at other places ; they did not have that strong and healthy 

 appearance which always make them beautiful and valuable, wheth- 

 er in or out of flower ; his forte, seems to be to get new varieties, 

 the looks and growth of the plants being altogether a secondary object. 

 Mr. Floy is much assisted by his son, who is quite an amateur in the 

 Camehia. There are numerous seedling plants which Mr. Floy has 

 not thought worth naming, but which are fully equal in beauty to kinds 

 already valued, and yet priced high in catalogues. We, however, 

 give him much credit, and we are sure all our readers, and every 

 person who is a lover of the Camellia, will join with us, in thus keep- 

 ing out of collections varieties, which have nothing to recommend 

 them but high sounding and pompous names. This is an evil which 

 florists practice too much, and it is gratifying to find that there are 

 some who will not sanction it ; no Camellia should be added to the 

 already existing kinds, unless it possesses some properties which will 

 make it equal, if not superior to any of them. This countless num- 

 ber of names among several groups only leads to confusion, and the 

 amateur or gardener may purchase a hundred plants, and not get twenty 

 truly worth keeping. The other species of plants, which are gene- 

 rally found in green-houses, Mr. Floy has very few of ; we ob- 

 served a fine specimen of Acacia verticillata. Mr. Floy's plants 

 are contained in two houses, one of which is built against his seed 

 store ; the other is divided by a partition into two compartments. 

 In the first named house he has planted in a border, several Camel- 

 lias which have attained to the height of five or six feet, and flower 

 profusely ; during the past severe winter, on one or two cold nights, 

 they got slightly touched with the cold, which turned part of their foli- 

 age of a rusty color ; we have heard it stated that when planted in the 

 border in the green-house, they make such vigorous shoots, that they 



