FLOWER-GARDENING. 119 



blended, in others strikingly contrasted. They are unrivalled 

 objects of beauty from October to May, being set in a fine 

 glossy foliage. 



Double Camellias are generally propagated on stocks of the 

 single, which are procured by planting cuttings of the young 

 shoots in light mould under bell-glasses ; on these, when grown 

 to a sufficient size, are inarched the finer kinds of double. 

 Sometimes these latter are also struck by cuttings; but as 

 their progress by such method is generally slow and uncertain, 

 it is seldom resorted to. These valuable plants are too often 

 injured by amateurs, from misapplied care bestowed upon 

 them, so that their whole compensation and enjoyment are 

 reduced to the mere possession of a handsome green shrub. 

 Destined, from the extreme beauty and unrivalled delicacy of 

 their flowers, to become the chief pride and ornament of the 

 green-house and drawing-room in the winter season, Camellias 

 should have a fair chance given them to exhibit their fine 

 bloom in perfection. 



It should be observed, that Camellias are by no means ten- 

 der shrubs, but require to be kept in a medium, even tempera- 

 ture, and they generally succeed best in a green-house, where 

 the atmosphere is damp. As the buds begin to swell, they 

 will require more water than at any other time, which may be 

 applied from the rose of a watering-pot, or syringe, while in 

 bud, but when in blossom it should be applied to the earth. 



If Camellias be kept where there is dry air occasioned from 

 fire-heat, they must have plenty of the natural air at all oppor- 

 tunities, or the buds will become brown and fall oft'; and if 

 they are exposed to extreme cold at night, which is too often 

 the case when kept in rooms of an uneven temperature, pre- 

 mature decay of the buds will inevitably be the consequence. 



To preserve Camellias in a healthy condition, they should 

 be kept in a fresh, moderately light soil, consisting of sandy 

 loam taken from under grass-sods, and leaf-mould well mixed ; 

 nothing being more injurious to them than overpotting, they 

 should not be shifted into larger pots, until the projection of 



