372 ON THE CAMELLIA AND ITS CULTURE. 



captivates is not that of health but a hectic glow ; the 

 plants are really unsound, and it is no easy matter to 

 restore them to a sound state. 



Thirdly, of Propagating. The Camellia is propagated 

 by cuttings, by grafting, by budding, and by inarching. 

 Propagation by cuttings is principally applied to the 

 species (the Single Red) on which the choicer varieties 

 are grafted, budded, or inarched. Many of the double 

 kinds root and grow well enough from cuttings, and are 

 grown largely in this manner in America ; but in this 

 country they appear to grow faster and thrive better 

 generally when grafted on the species. The young shoots 

 of the species when not over ripe, say in August, are cut 

 into pieces about two inches long and placed in pots of 

 sand and set in a close house or frame under glass, where 

 a gentle ground-heat is maintained until they are rooted 

 in the April following. They may then be placed each 

 in a separate pot and kept in the same house or frame 

 until they become established in the pots (September), 

 when they may be removed to pass the winter in a cold 

 pit. If heat be given during the growing season of the 

 second spring, these young plants, or stocks, as they are 

 technically called, will be ready for grafting in the follow- 

 ing autumn or spring. 



Grafting is the method usually applied for increasing 

 the finer kinds of Camellias. In autumn or spring pieces 

 about \\ inches long, with two leaves on each, may be 

 cut off the plant which it is the intention to reproduce, 

 the lower end of these pieces should be pared flat on 

 one side, and the stems of the stocks being pared in a 

 similar manner, the two flat sides are then brought in 

 contact and bound together with cotton or bast. The 

 plants thus grafted should be kept in a close pit or house 

 for a few weeks, after which period they may be gradu- 

 ally inured to open air. In spring the dormant buds of 

 the scion or stranger plant may be allowed or encouraged 

 to vegetate, but those of the stock should be kept in 



