HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



Philadelphia collection, but it was like gazing for an instant on the 

 Daouerrotrpe of a long lost friend. About 1 824 the imbricata was 

 introduced by the Dutch nurserymen from China, and it is more 

 than probable that the singular, and to this day unequalled beauty 

 of this variety gave to Camellia growing the increased impulse which 

 commenced a few years after. Since 1840 new varieties have 

 sprung up like mushrooms, both in rapidity and the multitudinous 

 nature of their various forms. Low in England, Van Houtte in Bel- 

 gium, and many of the Paris nurserymen, seem to have placed 

 Chandler completely in the shade, and have for some years been the 

 ruling spirits of Camellia development. 



In our own country the spirit of improvement has been still more 

 surprising ; our seedlings have obtained a reputation even in the old 

 world almost as great as their old Chinese prototypes; and by means 

 principally of this plant the names of our nurserymen are as famil- 

 iar as household words. This is the case with Boll, Hogg and Dun- 

 lap of New York ; Smith, Buist, Ritchie and Dick, of Philadelphia, 

 and Feast of Baltimore — all of whom have an European reputation 

 amongst Camellia raisers of the highest eminence. We cannot, per- 

 haps, boast of giving to the over six hundred varieties which make 

 up the total of European collections, the greater portion of its num- 

 ber; but we can point to some of our varieties as being among the 

 brightest stars in their floral firmament ; their very "Rc.ine des Camel- 

 lias" — the Duchess of Orleans— -with all the regal dignity attached 

 to its name, is in danger of being superceded by a plain "citizen." A 

 specimen bloom of a seedling, by Mr. John Sherwood, and named 

 Mrs. Cope, was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's 

 rooms, in the early part of this season, and gave full promise of 

 bearing the character I have just sketched out for it. 



Having thus given a brief outline of the history of the Camellia, 

 I proceed to treat similarly of its cultivation. 



Soil. — There are many opinions as to the best soil for Camellias; 

 some, especially the French gardeners, go in strongly for loam — 

 others, chiefly German, will be perfectly well satisfied with a brown 

 hazelly loam ; others, again, mostly British, require a " mixture of 

 peat, loam and sand." The probability is, that in the hands of a 

 good gardener, in a house, and in good conditions, any of the 

 mentioned soils is as good as another. Climate has much to do 



