216 On the cultivalio7i of the Camellia. 



Covingtoni, varlegata, Pomponia, Pdioaifldra, nivalis, excelsa, 

 Sabiiii, conchiflora dlba, Derb)^d?ia, rubricaulis, Parksii, con- 

 chiflora, Laura Coates, (a very superb white seedling, raised 

 by Mr. Joshua Pierce, of this vicinity,) including all that are 

 semi-double, with about fifteen or twenty petals, and that have 

 a green calyx, and all the single varieties. 



The plants should have air, by letting down the top sash 

 whenever the weather is mild, or when there is no frost in the 

 atmosphere, for a short time, though it may be cool. The ca- 

 mellia requires a great quantity of air: they will bloom in a 

 room where the heat varies from thirty-five to fifty degrees, but 

 will bear a much greater heat and bloom well, and on some 

 occasions they will flower, even though the earth on the top of 

 the pot has been slightly frozen; but extremes, either of heat 

 or cold, are bad for them. 



I have had camellias bloom finely on the benches, as above, 

 where the sun did not shine on them; but, in such cases, they 

 should have a great quantity of light. 



The syringe that I use was bought at the horticultural store 

 of jNIr. Landreth, of Philadelphia, and cost about six dollars; 

 it is made of brass, and when properly used, and kept in good 

 order, any individual may syringe the foliage of the plants, and 

 let but little water fall upon the carpet or floor. The wider 

 the benches, the better you can protect the carpet from water. 

 Where a person has but few plants, they might be watered 

 over their tops with a watering pot with a rose on it, by laying 

 each plant on its side, so as to keep from wetting the earth in 

 the pot too much: this could be done in a large tub, or on a 

 kitchen floor. 



I generally use water for my plants, both winter and sum- 

 mer, directly from the pump, though probably it would be bet- 

 ter if it was warmed to the same temperature of the room, in 

 winter. 



As to general watering of the flower pots, I think it best, 

 whenever the top earth begins to get dry, to water well or 

 freely, so that the water will pass to the bottom roots, and re- 

 peat the watering when the surface begins to get dry again: 

 when the camellias are blooming or growing, they require more 

 watering than at any other time. 



The number and size of the benches or tables should be in 

 proportion to the quantity of plants the individual has to win- 

 ter: they should not be crowded. 



