XII. THE CAMELLIA. 



WE have selected for this month a flower of which there are two 

 principal varieties, called in Japanese sazankwa and tsnbaki. 

 The Chinese ideograms used for the latter are the same as the first 

 two ideograms of the former, and mean ''mountain-tea," so that 

 sazankwa means etymologically "wild tea flower." The tea-plant 

 is scientifically classed as camellia theifera. The tsnbaki does not 

 generally bloom till January, but the sazankwa blossoms come in 

 December. 



Mr. Conder states the following about this flower: "There is 

 a prejudice against the camellia on account of the fragility of the 

 flower, which falls to pieces at the slightest touch ; it is nevertheless 

 much esteemed as being an evergreen." The famous Ogasawara 

 mentions the following reasons for the high estimation in which the 

 camellia should be held. It is recorded that, in the time of the gods, 

 Sasano no Mikoto and his spouse Inada Hime built a palace and as 

 a token of unchanging fidelity for eight thousand years planted a 

 camellia tree. This tree is said still to exist in the province of 

 Iclzumo and is called Yachi yo no tsnbaki, or "the camellia tree of 

 eight thousand years." Another reason assigned for the high esti- 

 mation in which the tree is held is that the pestle in which the rice 

 for the wedding-cake is ground is made of its wood. From the 

 seeds a fine hair oil is made. 



In the art of floral decoration, it is proper to combine the 

 camellia with the narcissus ; and the red kind ranks first. 



The camellia, on account of its fragility, should not be used 

 at weddings, but is appropriate for funerals. 



The camellia is not a favorite subject in art or literature : there- 

 fore, we present this time no poem. 



