INTRODUCTION TO THE TRANSLATION. / 



That during the summer the camellia requires complete shade from the 

 sun, and as much air as can be conveniently given. 



That the fine dust raised by sweeping rooms will soon fill and choke 

 the Stomates or delicate pores on the skin of the leaf, by the unrestrained 

 action of which pores alone the juices of the plant are rendered capable of 

 producing flowers and shoots, it is therefore indispensable that the leaves 

 should always be kept bright and clean, this as much as possible by the 

 action of the rain in summer, and during the winter by the means so well 

 described in this work. 



That great and sudden variations of temperature will cause the most 

 promising buds to fall off without disclosing their beauty; this often occurs 

 here where the rooms are heated to a high degree in the depth of winter 

 during the day, and at night the temperature falls nearly to freezing point. 



That the earth in which the camellia is planted being constantly watered, 

 the plant must in the course of one season have absorbed all the wholesome 

 nourishment which that earth contained, consequently fresh must be sup- 

 plied and where the size of the plant requires, a larger pot be substituted. 



Good peat earth may with care be procured here, but in default of this 

 every thicket abounds with rich decayed leaf mould the accumulation of 

 years, that of decayed oak leaves is probably the strongest, and may be 

 mixed according to the directions given in the work. 



The experienced cultivator who is curious in his composts will hardly 

 require this information, but even to him a little acquisition on vegetable 

 physiology may not be valueless. 



In reflecting on the subject of fecundation by the pollens it seems in 

 accordance with the laws of vegetable structure that the first deviation from 

 the regular or normal form of a flower or of any of its parts, should be the 

 precursor of farther deviation. 



Thus in the camellia it is evident that the double flowers are produced 

 by the filamentous portion of the stamen becoming expanded and approach- 

 ing in form to a petal, the nearer this approach to a petal the less is the 

 resemblance to a stamen, until finally the anther with its pollen disappears, 

 and the filament becomes altogether a petal, although in most cases not 

 so perfect in form or growth as the outer row of original and natural ones, 

 even this approach to perfection is gradual, receding as the conversion nears 

 the axis. Hence pollen taken from the stamens with flattened or petaloid 

 filaments, where the conversion has already commenced, will be most likely 

 to produce double flowers. 



The maturity of the pollen should also be a subject of attention, in 

 default of experience it may be tested by placing a small portion in a drop 

 of water on the stand of a microscope, if the pollen is fit the grains will 



