226 



CAMELLIA 



a heavier soil, apparently cuntainin^ some clay. The 

 pots and tubs should be well dr;iini-<l with potsherds and 

 charcoal, the drainage being prott-rt.-d l>y sphagnum to 

 insure durability, the ohler plants not requiring frequent 

 shifts. Potting should be done just before new growth 

 starts, when the flowering is about over; the exact time 

 can be determined by noting the beginning of the root 

 growth, which generally precedes the expanding of the 

 leaf -buds. The soil should be moist, not wet, and made 

 firm. Large shifts should be avoided; in many cases, by 

 renewing the drainage and removing the surface soil, a 

 larger pot will be found imnecessary. After potting, the 

 temperature may be increased, and the plants should be 

 kept close until a new growth is established. 



When the weather in May becomes settled, they should 

 be placed in summer quarters. This may be a cool green- 

 house, well shaded, or, preferably, a position in the open 

 air, protected from sun and wind. Lath screens maybe 

 employed, or the shade of trees or fences. In any case 

 there must be plenty of light and air. Great care must 

 always be given to watering, but especially at this time, 

 while they are making and ripening their growth ; the 

 dropping of flower buds in November is often the result 

 of careless watering in summer. Plenty of water must 

 be given to the roots, never in driblets, and the foliage 

 should It syriii^'id night and mornini^ in dry weather. 

 The funil)h';tppiication of water in tlu- f-imi of spraynot 

 only k(M-ps thf plant in good condition, but eht'cks mealy- 

 bug and red-spider. In September they should be put in 

 the cool end of the coolhouse, or they can be stored in a 

 pit and brought in later. The Camellia is nearly hardy, 

 but should not be exposed to actual frost. Large speci- 

 mens can be planted out in a coolhouse or winter gar- 

 den. They thrive wonderfully in the evenly moist soil 

 of such a position, and give an abundant bloom at Christ- 

 mas and New Year, when flowers are scarce ; the foliage, 

 too, can be freely cut, since growth under these condi- 

 tions is so much improved. 



Propagation is now effected by cuttings and "grafts. 

 Formerly inarching and even layering were employed. 

 Cuttings should be made, November to January, from 

 wood of the previous season's growth, from 13^-2 or 2% 

 inches long, each having from 1-3 eyes; in single-eye 

 cuttings the leaf is left entire, in others 1 or 2 leaves are 

 removed. Plant firmly in sharp sand, keeping them cool, 

 well watered and carefully shaded for the first few weeks. 

 Sometimes they will be sufliciently rooted in June for 

 potting in thumbs, but at others they will not be ready 

 until October. Shift on the young plants as their growth 

 requires, never giving them too large pots; they make a 

 surprisingly good growth when once established. Flower 

 buds should be picked from young stock ; sometimes 

 there is trouble from blind eyes, but a new bud will 

 eventually form. Grafting is done in November, Decem- 

 ber and January, using the improved veneer graft ; a 

 close frame is not necessary, but is often used, in which 

 case great care must be given to watering and ventila- 

 tion. If raffia is used for tying, it should be smeared 

 with grafting wax to prevent decay; the process of unit- 

 ing is lengthy. Stock can be obtained from seed or by 

 cuttings of easily rooted varieties. Mealy-btig and red- 

 spider can be avoided by proper syringing ; thrips and 

 aphis are kept down by tobacco fumigation; scale must 

 be checked by washing and spraying; a troublesome leaf- 

 eating insect is only removed by hand picking. 



Consult Practical Camellia Culture, by Robert Halli- 

 day, Baltimore, 1880. lUus. The only other American 

 book on Camellias is an American edition of The Abbe 

 Berlese's Monography of the Genus Camellia, by Gen. 

 Dearborn; Boston, 1838. For a list of varieties, see also 

 Nouvelle Iconographie des Camellias, Amb. Verschaffelt 

 Fils; Ghent, 185&-60. Illus. B. M. Watson. 



Camellias are general favorites with most people, and, 

 when well-grown, have few equals among hardwooded, 

 cool, greenhouse plants. They may be propagated by 

 seeds, cuttings, layering, grafting or inarching ; the 

 two latter methods are best for the double forms, as 

 they succeed better when grafted or inarched on the 

 single forms than on their own roots, the operation be- 

 ing performed immediately after the flowering season, 

 or just as soon as new growth is about to commence, 

 and the method known as "side-grafting" is best if this 

 means of propagation is used. The single species are 



CAMPANULA 



best propagated by seeds, if these can be obtained fresh. 

 They should be sown in early spring, in 4-inch pots, 

 containing a mixture of peat, leaf-nn.ld and sand, in 

 equal proportions. The pots should be plac^'d in a 

 warm temperature, where they will usually germinate 

 in from 4 to 6 weeks. If propagated by cuttings, the 

 half-ripened wood should be chosen, and the cuttings 

 inserted around the edge of 4-inch pots containing a 

 sandy, peaty mixture, pressed very firm. The pots 

 should be placed in a shaded, close position, where an 

 even temperature of about 60° can be maintained. The 

 pots plunged in a half -spent hotbed would be an ideal 

 place. If carefully attended to, they should be rooted 

 in about two months, after which they sliould be potted 

 singly, in small pots, and grown on as rapidly as possi- 

 ble. When of suitable height, stopping should be at- 

 tended to, to induce a bushy habit. As the plants in- 

 crease in size, a slightly heavier soil should be used 

 when potting, a mixture of equal parts loam, leaf-mold 

 and fibrous peat being most suitable. Camellias re- 

 quire at all seasons a good supply of water at the roots, 

 and during the flowering season they should have an 

 abundance. If allowed to become dry, the flower buds 

 will fall off. They also require to be shaded from direct 

 sunlight during the spring and summer months. A 

 lean-to greenhouse, with a north aspect, is an ideal one 

 in which to grow Camellias. In such a house they might 

 be planted out, providing an abundance of air could be 

 given during the summer ; they make miich larger 

 plants and flower more freely when planted out than 

 when grown in pots or tubs. The flowering season is 

 usually from the beginning of Ffbruary to the middle 

 of April, if grown in ordinary vtnA greenhouse tempera- 

 ture, but they will stand ;X'^iitIe forcing if the flowers 

 are wanted earlier. After flowering, they should be kept 

 syringed to encourage the new growth, and also to keep 

 them free from thrips. If grown in pots or tubs, they 

 should be placed in a sheltered, shaded position outside 



for the summer. y, -, i-i 



Edward J. Canning. 



CAMEL'S THORN, ^^g AUuigi. 



CAMPANULA (Latin, a little bell). CampamtUlcece. 

 Bell Fluwer. A genus of about 300 species, confined 

 to the northern hemisphere, and containing some of the 

 most popular garden plants, especially of hardy her- 

 baceous perennials. The root-lvs. are usually larger 

 than the stem-lvs., and often of different shape, and 

 more or less transitory. Fls. blue, violet or white ; calyx 

 5-fid ; corolla 5-lobed or 5-fid ; stamens 5, free ; fila- 

 ments wide at the base, membranaceous ; stigmas 3 or 

 5, filiform : capsule 3-5-valved, dehiscing laterally by 

 3-5 valves : seeds ovate, complanate, or ovoid. Allied 

 genera of garden value are Adenophora, Canarina, Jasi- 

 one, Lightfootia, Phyteuma, Platycodon, Specularia, 

 Symphyandra, Trachelium, and Wahienbergia, in which 

 genera many*species originally described as Campanu- 

 las may be sought. Of these, perhaps the two best 

 known cases are Platycodon grandiflorum, the "Balloon 

 Flower," with its characteristic inflated buds, dark 

 green, glossy leathery Ivs., and Specularia Speculum 

 { C. Speculum), " Venus' Looking-glass," a pretty annual, 

 which grows in the grain fields of S. Europe, and is 

 cult, for its violet fls. with a white eye. The calyx -tube 

 of Specularia is much longer, proportionately, than in 

 any Campanula. 



Botanically, Campanulas are divided into two impor- 

 tant groups, based on the presence or absence of calyx 

 appendages. The subgenus Medium has the appen- 

 dages, and Eucodon lacks them. In straightening out 

 one's garden labels, the calyx appendages are one of 

 the first things to be looked for, and they are often 

 minute and disguised. In cultivation, Campanulas tend 

 to become taller and more robust, less hairy, more 

 branched, and more floriferous. A very few have white 

 or yellowish fls., with no blue or violet forms. Any blue 

 or violet-flowered form is likely to have white varieties, 

 and double and semi-double forms are common in 

 3 or 4 of the most popular species. All flowers tend to 

 become larger and more numerous on a stem. In culti- 

 vation, the 3-ceIled species are likely to have 5 stigmas 

 instead of 3, and .5-celled capsules, often along with 

 normally constructed fls. on the same plant. The height 



