602 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



Chinese. These are all hardy green-house plants, 

 and thrive well in a mixture of loam and light 

 rich earth, or peat; and may be propagated by 

 seeds, or very young cuttings, put into close 

 moist earth. 



The Sweet Calabash, (p. maliformis), a native 

 of the West Indies; produces large flowers, of a 

 red, white, and blue colour, but of short dura- 

 tion. The fruit is round, the size of a large 

 apple, with a sweetish pulp, in which are lodged 

 many oblong, black seeds. This fruit is used as 

 a dessert. 



The Granadilla Vine (p. quadrangularis ) , 

 has a square stalk, and leaves five to six inches 

 in length. The flowers are red within, and 

 white outside. They are odoriferous, and gen- 

 erally the plant is covered with fruit and flowers 

 at the same time. The fruit is very large, being 

 an oblong, of about six inches in diameter from 

 the stalk to the eye, and fifteen inches in cir- 

 cumference. Externally, it is greenish yellow; 

 when ripe, soft and leathery to the touch, and 

 quite smooth. The rind is very thick, the pulp 

 is of a purple colour, and is eaten with wine and 

 sugar. It has a sweet, slightly acid flavour, and 

 is very grateful to the taste. 



All these species will fruit in large pots, in 

 hot-houses in this country. The roots are planted 

 in a compost of very old tan and rich dung, in 

 which they will strike freely. They require 

 only a temperate heat of about 70°. As they 

 grow, the very strong shoots should be cut off, 

 as these do not bear so well as those which are 

 less vigorous. 



Honey-suckle, or Wood-bine, (caprifol- 

 ium.) Pentandria, monogynia, of Linnaeus. 

 This is one of the most beautiful of our native 

 climbing shrubs, both as respects the foliage, 

 and the rich and odoriferous flowers. The honey- 

 suckle is well adopted for arbors, walls, gate- 

 waj's, and indeed any situation in the shrubbery. 

 In the twisting of its stalk it follows the course 

 of the sun, which is the case with most British 

 climbing plants. It grows luxuriantly, can be 

 trained in any direction, and bears pruning 

 well. Professor Martyn observes that those 

 plants Ai'hich in a state of nature cannot ascend 

 without the assistance of others, are often liable 

 to lose large branches; they have therefore a 

 proportionate vigour of growth to restore acci- 

 dental damages. Against a wall the climbing 

 kinds are very liable to attacks of aphides; and 

 the caterpillar oi phalonatortrix, and the hawk- 

 moths, according to Withering, extract the honey 

 from the very bottom of the tubular flowers 

 with their long tongues. The common wood- 

 bine, c. perielt/menimi, of which there are two or 

 three cultivated varieties, grows abundantly 

 in woods and coppices in Britain; there are 

 other species, natives of America, China, and the 

 south of Europe. 



The seeds of honey-suckle should be sown tin 

 autumn after they are ripe, otherwise they will 

 not come up the first year. 



The plant may also be propagated by cuttings. 



Lilac (syringia). Natural family oleinos, 

 decandria, monogynia, of Linnaeus. The lilac is 

 a beautiful and fragrant flowered shrub, a native 

 of Persia, though it is now completely acclim- 

 ated to this country, and thrives well in the open 

 air. 



Of the common lilac, «. vulgaris, there 

 are two usual varieties, a purple and a white. 

 There is also the Chinese and Persian lilac. All 

 the sorts are readily propagated by suckers from 

 theTOots, which grow up in abundance. The 

 common lilac appears to have been introduced 

 into Britain before or during the reign of Henry 

 VIIL, for in the inventory taken by order of 

 Cromwell, of the articles in the gardens of the 

 palace of Norwich, are numbered " six lilac 

 trees, which bear no fruit but only a pleasant 

 smell." 



Camellia. Monadelphia, polyandria, of Lin- 

 naeus. The natural family camellia includes the 

 tea plant already described ; and several species 

 of beautiful flowering shrubs, all natives of 

 China. 



The Camellia Japonica, as it grows in the 

 woods and gardens of Japan and China, is a 

 lofty tree, of beautiful proportions, and clothed 

 with a deep green shining foliage, with large 

 elegant flowers, either single or double, and of a 

 red or pure white colour. It is much cultivated 

 among the Chinese and Japanese; and appears a 

 great favourite, as it is frequently figured in their 

 plantations along with other two favourite plants, 

 hibiscus and crysanlhemvm. There are numerous 

 varieties of c. Japonica in China, the greater 

 part of which have found their way to this 

 country; while other new- varieties have been 

 found here. The double-white, double striped, 

 and double-waratah, the last so called from the 

 central petals resembling those of the waratah 

 plant of New Holland, are considered the finest 

 varieties, and are also free growers and flowerers; 

 the paeony-flowered and fringed are also much 

 admired. 



The Oil-bearing Camellia ( c. oleifera), is 

 cultivated for its seeds, from which an oil is 

 expressed, and which is very generally used by 

 the Chinese in their cookery. It thrives best 

 in a red sandy soil, and attains a height of six 

 to eight feet, producing a profusion of white 

 blossoms and seeds. These seeds, and indeed 

 the seeds of all the other species, when reduced 

 to a coarse powder, strained in bags, and then 

 subjected to pressure, yield an oil. 



The camellia received its name from a Jesuit, 

 named Camellus, the author of a work on botany. 



The single red camellia is propagated by cut- 

 tings, layers, and seeds. It forms suitable stocks, 



