lU 



THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. 



plauted off into small pots about the end of Januaiy, or the beginning of 

 February, after which they are placed in a temperature of from sixty five 

 to seventy degrees till about the beginning of June, when they are fit 

 for removal into the Camellia house or greenhouse. 



PROPAGATION BY SEEDS. 



Seeds should be sown as soon as they are fully ripe, or imported, in pots 

 filled with peat and loam, and placed in a cool pit, from which frost is 

 excluded. They require about two years to come up, after which they 

 should be treated exactly as cuttings. 



Seeds of the CameUia are sometimes imported from China and Japan ; 

 these requii-e a long period to germinate, and some of them, like many 

 other similar seeds from India, frequently lose their vegetative properties 

 entirely, before they arrive in this countiy. It has been suggested, that 

 if seeds so situated were immersed in oxahc acid, or folded up in a 

 cloth moistened with that acid, germination would be accelerated ; but 

 they should not remain longer in the acid than the moment germination 

 has commenced, when they should be sown in pots in mould prepared 

 for them. 



An anonymous contributor to the IIorricultiu*al Cabinet observes, ^' I 

 have paid some attenrion to raising seedlings, and have been most amply 

 repaid by some veiy handsome and peculiarly striking varieties. ^ly 

 practice is to study which admixture of two sorts are likely to produce 

 the most striking distinct colours, and to impregnate accordingly. I 

 apply the farina by means of a camel hair pencil, and for a fortnight 

 afreiTrai'ds do not allow am- water to faU upon the flowers. I have 

 uniformly foimd my seedlings to take the habit of growth of the parent 

 sort each individual plant pai'took most of in colour, whether of the male 

 or female. 



I usually force the Camelhas under my charge, so that they bloom 



from September rill April, thus having opportunity of impregnating 

 early in spring, v. liicli I generally do in Febmary. or Mai'ch : by this 

 means I eer the seeds well ripened. When the seed is ripe, I retain it in 

 its cay snl till the following Tebniaiy, when I sow it in small pots filled 

 ^ ~ sandy loam, and place it in moist heat. When the plants are 

 - ^ ^ . - .-:es high, I pot them singly into small pots, being careful to have 

 them Y. ell di-ained with broken potsherds. After keeping the plants in 



