lU 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ Febrnary 23, 1871. 



He farther says that he has tried numerous experiments with 

 the view of raising seedlings from reticulata and Donckelaeri, 

 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 1S26 Chandler and Buckingham, of Yauxball, published 

 " Camellia Britanniea," a quarto volume with eight plates, and 

 in 1831 appeared " Illustrations and Descriptions of the Ca- 

 melliaj," 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. Baumanu, of Bolwyller, and more recently a beautiful 

 work by Mr. Ambroise Verschafielt, of Ghent, appeared, the 

 latter containing innumerable and beautifully executed plates. 



The CameUia is by nature a first-class town plant. Some 

 few years ago it was an object of special culture both at Lod- 

 diges', at Hackney, and Chandler's, at Yauxball. It was a great 

 treat to lovers of flowers to visit either of these establishments 

 during the season of flowering. I have seen both collections 

 when at their best. Chandler's young plants always appeared 

 to me the most comely, but Loddiges' large plants were gorgeous 

 beyond description. Txiey were planted out in a house some 

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

 the glass at the top of the house. As you walked beneath and 

 gazed upon the broad, dark green massive leaves, plentifully 

 sprinkled with various coloured flowers, blackbirds, thrushes, 

 and smaller birds fluttered incessantly among the branches, 

 where, with a keen sense to comfort, they had built their nests 

 in this splendid grove of flowering trees. But all this, alas ! 

 has passed away, and I know of nothing now in existence that 

 can in any way compare with it. We must turn our eyes in 

 another direction — to the improvement and multiplication of 

 varieties, if we would set up a claim to progress in this branch 

 of horticulture. Some of those old varieties are, doubtless, 

 surpassed by the recent introductions, if we judge them by the 

 symmetry of the individual flowers, and where there were 

 hundreds of Camellias in those days there are thousands now. 

 With this brief historical sketch I shall proceed to the more 

 practical part of my subject. 



Everybody acknowledges the Camellia japonica, or Japan 

 Eose, to be a beautiful plant, but many consider it a difficult 

 one to grow and preserve in good condition. This impression 

 derives support from the fact that we often meet with plants 

 which ere misshapen and have a meagre appearance, the 

 flower bude sometimes dropping off prematurely. If, however, 

 the plants and varieties be properly chosen, this need not be, 

 except by default of the cultivator. The Camellia may be 

 grown and kept in condition with as little trouble as the com- 

 monest of our hardy plants. True, it requires special treat- 

 ment, and I shall proceed to lay before you the results of my 

 experience in cultivation under the following heads : — 



1. Of Soils. I 3. Of Propagation. 



2. Of CUmate. | 4. Of General Culture. 

 And 1st, of Soils. Camellias will grow very well in either 



peat or loam, but it should not be poor peat or loam — the dog 

 will not thrive on insufficient diet. Chandlers grew their 

 plants in two parts loam and one part peat. Loddiges grew 

 them in peat alone, in loam alone, and in a mixture of both. 



I have found Camellias grow more luxuriantly in loam than 

 in peat, but they flower more freely in a mixture of both. 

 Some people are accustomed to speak of loam and peat as 

 if these words possessed a precise and definite signification, 

 whereas, according to my experience, they possess a very vague 

 and indefinite one. There is rich peat and hungry peat, sandy 

 peat and fibrous peat, and, Jwrribile dictti .' sour pea^ which is 

 usually gathered in low wet places, and which every good 

 gardener will studiously avoid. Loams vary in a similar man- 

 ner. The physical or mechanical properties of the soil are of 

 scarcely less importance here than its chemical properties. 

 We want a soil that is open and porous, which it will certainly 

 be if sand and fibre abound in it. 



The soil I prefer for the Camellia is composed of three parts 

 sandy loam, and one part fibrous peat and leaf mould in equal 

 quantities. If sandy loam is not readily obtainable, light loam 

 may be used, ^sith the addition of drift sand. To this add a 

 few small lumps of charcoal and a few pieces of crushed bones. 

 Manure, however, I prefer giving principally in a liquid state 

 during the season of flowering and growth only. These dif- 



ferent materials should be broken up and mixed together some 

 months before they are required for use, and be turned over 

 occasionally that the component parts may become thoroughly 

 incorporated, and every part be subjected to the mellowing 

 influences of sun and air. 



2ndly, of Climate. We have seen that the plants first intro- 

 duced were killed by being kept in a hothouse ; it is, therefore, 

 amusiug to find old Abercrombie including the Camellia among 

 hothouse plants fifty years later. The fact is, the plant is 

 nearly hardy in the climate of Britain, and the less fire heat 

 employed, except during the growing season, the better. In 

 the flowering season the flowers do not expand kindly, and 

 often fall speedily if placed in heat. In Devonshire, in many 

 sheltered parts of the country, and even in the neighbourhood 

 of London, where the soil is tolerably dry, the Camellia has 

 been planted out both in the open ground and against walls, 

 where it has resisted the frost of several successive winters. 

 It must be told, however, that some varieties are hardier in 

 our climate than others. One of the most skilful of American 

 horticulturists has assured me that some kinds which usually 

 have a deUeate and meagre appearance here are exceedingly 

 healthful and vigorous in the climate of New York. We cannot 

 count upon the Camellia as a. flowering shrub, only as an ever- 

 green shrub, out of doors in tliis country, because the flowers 

 produced under out-of-door culture expand in spring, when 

 they are often quickly spoiled by the variable weather. In 

 order to rejoice in all its beauties we must then use glass 

 structures. In winter and spring it will suffer nothing, when 

 under glass, from 10° or 15° of frost. Both Chandler's and 

 Loddiges' collections were frequently frozen, but never hurt. 



When the flowering is over, and the new growth commences, 

 say in March, a warmer climate than we Usually experience 

 out of doors is desirable. A temperature of 60° to 70° by day 

 and 50° by night should be maintained throughout the growing 

 season, which we wiU assume to be March, April, and May. 

 The hygrometric state of the air is not less important than its 

 temperature at this season. Mr. Chandler attributes the drop- 

 ping of the buds to dryness of atmosphere and too much flre 

 heat. What gardeners call a moist air should be secured by 

 syringing the plants once or twice daily, ecpiouslyor lightly, 

 during the season of growth, according to the amount of sun- 

 shine experienced. Soot water may be used with advantage in 

 syringing. A close dank atmosphere must be avoided by the 

 admission of more or less air from without, as the state of the 

 weather may permit. By the use of heat and moisture at this 

 season we seek to realise and combine a vigorous growth with 

 a fall crop of flowers. 



The health of the Camellia is much influenced by sunshine 

 and shade. The plant loves the shade. Some of the moat 

 remarkable specimens for foliage I ever met with were planted 

 by myself against a west wall out of doors in my own neigh- 

 bourlaood, many years ago, in a spot where the sun scarcely ever 

 reached them. Shade is necessary during the season of growth, 

 for without it few or many of the leaves, according to the style 

 of the house or the quality of the glass, will become burnt or 

 blistered. The flowers should also be shaded when in bloom. 

 When growth ceases, and the young shoots become partly 

 hardened and the next year's bloom is set, the best climate is 

 that out of doors. Eemove the plants from the house, say in 

 June, to a north border where they get the morning sun only, 

 leaving them there till the middle of September, when they 

 should be carried back to the house before the soil becomes 

 saturated with the autumnal rains. These latter remarks, of 

 coarse, apply only to plants in pots. But where the plants are 

 in the ground under glass, nearly the same effects of climate 

 may be secured by shading and giving air. In a few words, I 

 repeat the climate of England is very near to the best that the 

 Camellia can have. The plant should be treated as a hardy 

 evergreen with two slight exceptions — we should hold in our 

 bands, by means of glass structures, the power of moderating 

 a severe winter should it occur, and the power of giving a 

 slightly higher temperature than that of our climate during 

 the growing season in spring. 



I have often been asked, " How is it that Camellias received 

 from abroad, so vigorous and healthfal in appearance when 

 they arrive, almost invariably deteriorate in this country ?" 

 Some attribute it to climate, others to soil. In my judgment 

 it is due to the forcing system they have previously been sub- 

 jected to. These plants are grown far too long a period in a 

 hot, moist, shady climate, with the view of obtaining the largest 

 possible plants in the shortest possible time. The hue whioh 

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



