IN EXTRA-TROPICAL COUNTRIES. 59 



Camelina sativa, Crantz. 



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

 vated 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 32 bushels of seeds 

 from an acre, and from these 540 Ibs. of oil. The return is within 

 a few months. 



Camellia japonica, Linne. 



This renowned horticultural plant attains a height of 30 feet in 

 Japan. It is planted there on roadsides for shelter, shade 

 and ornament (Christie). The wood is used for superior xylography 

 (Dupont). The seeds, like those of C. Sasaiiqua (Thunberg), are 

 available for pressing oil. C. reticulata (Lindley) from China is 

 conspicuous for its very large flowers. 



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 irrigation, 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 surrounded 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. Declivi- 

 ties 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 lati- 

 tude, where the thermometer occasionally sinks to 16 F. (Simmons). 

 For many full details Fortune's work, " The Tea Districts of China," 

 might be consulted. The very troublesome Tea-bug of Asia is 

 Helopeltis theivora. Fumigation and the application of birdlime 

 are among the remedies to cope with this insect. The third volume 

 of the Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of 

 India is mainly occupied by Lieut. -Colonel Edw. Money's and Mr. 

 Watson's elaborate essays on the Cultivation and Manufacture of 

 Tea in India. For full advice on the culture and preparation of 

 tea consult the writer's printed lecture, delivered in 1875, at the 

 Farmers' Club of Ballarat. 



