WILD AND SINGLE CAMELLIAS, 



301 



shady places which occur so often in 

 English gardens and in woods near 

 them. 



. . In its native country the 



Species of J 



Camellias. single form of the com- 

 mon Camellia is abundant in the woods, 

 thriving in the shade of other trees, 

 growing slowly, but often reaching 40 

 feet in height, with a trunk as thick as 

 a man's body, and, though the trees are 

 rarely without flower , of fine effect when 

 in full beautyduring April. These 

 wild flowers seldom open flat,but 

 are more or less cup-shaped till 

 their fall, and perhaps for this 

 reason are less valued for beauty 

 than for the fruits, which are ga- 

 thered in October and pressed for 

 their oil — in great local demand. 

 Though often seen in southern 

 Europe, fruits are seldom pro- 

 duced in this country save upon 

 wall-grown trees, nor, indeed, is 

 it to the welfare of the plants. 

 They are of the size of a small 

 hard apple, bright shining green, 

 and ribbed like a tomato; when 

 ripe the rind splits open, showing 

 brown seeds like coffee beans 

 when fertile, though frequently 

 only one or two in each shell are fully 

 grown. 



After the first double-flowered Ca- 

 mellias were obtained, those with single 

 flowers unfortunately fell out of favour 

 and came to be used mainly as stocks 

 for other varieties, and it is only of recent 

 years (when many of the fine old single 

 kinds have disappeared) that a renewed 

 taste for them has arisen. One of the 

 gains in this return to the love of single 



flowers is that it becomes a simple mat- 

 ter to raise plants upon their own roots, 

 the single kinds rooting easily as layers 

 or cuttings, a method of layering being 

 much used in Japan. Though of slower 

 growth at the outset these plants are 

 more lasting than those grafted in nur- 

 series, and beautiful little plants only 

 a foot high may be had covered with 

 flowers. The call for single flowers has 

 also resulted in the spread of old for- 



JUPITE 

 " Flora 



Culture. 



R": SINGLE JAPANESE CAMELLIA. (Engraved for 

 " from a photograph in the Old Nurseries, Cheshunt.) 



gotten kinds, such as C. Sasanqua and 

 its varieties from Japan. 



In our island the hardiness of 

 the Camellia varies with local 

 conditions ; throughout the south and 

 west, and in sheltered Midland districts 

 as far north as Leicester and Cheshire, 

 and in milder parts of Ireland and even of 

 western Scotland, the Camellia is hardy. 

 Grown against walls their beauty might 

 be enjoyed more widely, particularly 



