54 SELECT PLANTS FOB INDUSTRIAL CULTURE 



constructed of this palm. It supplies material for the strong- 

 est ropes for dragging logs of wood from the forests. The 

 most durable baskets and the cane-work of chairs are manu- 

 factured from the slit stems. Walking-sticks and riding- 

 canes made of this species are exported from Sikkim in 

 considerable quantity/' Many other Calami serve similar 

 purposes } but probably few, or perhaps none, are equally hardy. 



Callitris quadrivalvis, Ventenat. 



North Africa. A middling-sized tree, yielding the true sand- 

 arac resin. 



Calyptranthes aromatica, St. Hilaire. 



South Brazil. The flower-buds of this Spice shrub can be used 

 almost like cloves, the berries like allspice. Several other 

 aromatic species are eligible for test culture. 



Camelina sativa, Crantz. 



Middle and South Europe, temperate Asia. An annual herb, 

 cultivated for the sake of its fibre and the oil of its seeds. It 

 is readily grown after corn-crops, yields richly even on poor 

 soil, and is not attacked by aphis. Mr. W. Taylor obtained 3 

 bushels of seeds from an acre, and from these 540 Ibs. of oil. 

 The return is within a few months. 



Camellia Thea, Link. (Thea Chinensis, Linne.) 



The Tea shrub of South-Eastern Asia, said to be indigenous 

 also to some localities of Japan, for instance, Suruga. This 

 evergreen and ornamental bush has proved quite hardy in the 

 lowlands at Melbourne, where in exposed positions it endures 

 without any attention our night frosts as well as the free 

 access of scorching summer winds. But it is in humid 

 valleys, with rich alluvial soil and access to springs for irriga- 

 tion, where only the most productive tea fields can be formed. 

 The plant comes into plentiful bearing of its product as early 

 as the Vine and earlier than the Olive. Its culture is sur- 

 rounded with no difficulties, and it is singularly exempt from 

 diseases, if planted in proper localities. Pruning is effected in 

 the cool season, in order to obtain a large quantity of small 

 tender leaves from young branches. Both the Chinese and 

 Assam tea are produced by varieties of one single species, the 

 tea shrub being indigenous in the forest country of Assam. 

 Declivities are best adapted and usually chosen for tea culture, 

 particularly for Congo, Pekoe, and Souchong, while Bohea is 

 often grown in flat countries. In Japan tea cultivation extends 

 to 39 north latitude, where the thermometer occasionally sinks 



