ni F.I MI LIAR GAEDEX FLOU'EKfi. 



Philippines. Tiiis work our great John Ray, the forerunner 

 of the greater Linnwus, embodied in his " History of 

 Plants." 



That the Cidnellla ■lapoiiica is the grandest of our con- 

 servatory and garden shrubs the reader of this sketch does 

 not need to be informed, and in the brief sp)ace at our 

 command we will endeavour to do better than eulogise its 

 beauty. The plant was introduced to this countrj' by Lord 

 Petre some time before the year 1739, and the first plants 

 were killed by being placed in too high a temper'ature. 

 Thus at the very first start a lesson was learned, and in the 

 same direction there is yet another lesson to be learned, as 

 will be stated presently. On turning to that treasury of 

 things new and old, the Botanical Magazine, we find a 

 figure of the camellia in the volume published in 1790, the 

 number of the figure being 4:i. From the accompanving 

 notice we learn that it had then been several times figured, 

 as by Thunberg, in his "Flora of Japan," /. 273, Ijy 

 Ksempfer, in his " Amasnitates," /. 851, and in other works. 

 Its original and proper name is Camellia Japonica, but it has 

 been also called Txiibaki, Bvsa C/iinen-si'i, and T/iea C/iineiisi-s. 

 The last-cited name makes occasion for the remark that the 

 tea-plant is closely allied to the camellia, and several sorts of 

 true camellia are available as tea-plants. Those who can 

 take interest in the economical view of the subject will not 

 object to be told that the leaves of Camellia sasaiigna are 

 dried to mix with tea for the communication to it of a 

 grateful odour. A Nepaul species, known as Ctmellia kixsi, 

 is so much characterised by the flavour and odour of tea, 

 that it might l)e employed for the same purpose. But the 

 true tea-plant [Tl/ra) is so hardy, and ])ossesses in such a 

 striking manner the properties for the sake of which tea is 



