ON THE CAMELLIA AND ITS CULTURE. 367 



seedlings, Jubilee and Rubescens, raised some twenty-five 

 years ago, still rank among the best. Miniata, Lowii, and 

 Alexina were also raised by him. Mr Fielder tells me 

 that Miniata was raised from Sasanqua and Lepida, and 

 that he still considers Lepida, an old semi-double red 

 kind with large smooth thick petals, one of the best to 

 raise seedlings from. He further says that he has tried 

 numerous experiments with the view of raising seedlings 

 from Reticulata and Donckelarii, but has never succeeded 

 in doing so. 



Although other English and Scotch gardeners have 

 been successful in introducing here and there a good 

 variety, the number of English raised sorts has not 

 recently been great. Judging by the names of the 

 novelties which are now reaching us, we may, I think, 

 reasonably assume that Italy is doing the best work in this 

 field at the present time. 



In 1826 Chandler and Buckingham of Vauxhall 

 published " Camellia Britannica," a quarto volume with 

 eight plates, and in 1831 appeared "Illustrations and 

 Descriptions of the Camelliae," by Chandler and Booth, in 

 which some of the finest varieties then known were 

 figured and described. Shortly afterwards was published 

 a work on the same subject by the Messrs Baumann of 

 Bolwyller, and more recently a beautiful work by Mr 

 Ambroise Verschaffelt of Ghent appeared, the latter con- 

 taining innumerable and beautifully executed plates. 



The Camellia is by nature a first-class town plant. 

 Some few years ago it was an object of special culture 

 both at Loddiges', at Hackney, and Chandlers', at Vaux- 

 hall. It was a great treat to lovers of flowers to visit 

 either of these establishments during the season of flower- 

 ing. I have seen both collections when at their best. 

 Chandlers' young plants always appeared to me the most 

 comely, but Loddiges' large plants were gorgeous beyond 

 description. They were planted out in a house some 

 30 or 40 feet high, and many of them were pressing 



